The death count in the Ghaziabad IndiaMART office fire mishap could have been higher than five had it not been for the courage of some of the survivors.
They had the opportunity to jump out from the burning building, but they chose to take a risk and go back into the burning parts of the office to rescue their colleagues.
One such man was Jazib Siddiqui, who works for the internet promotion of the e-commerce company.
Visibly trembling even hours after the fatal blaze, Siddiqui suffered burns in both his hands.
Siddiqui had broken open the office’s window panes as soon as he realised that the normal exit route had been virtually blocked because of the fire on the first floor of the three-storey building.
But, before he could jump out, he heard some of his colleagues groaning; they were close to passing out because of the dense smoke that had filled the office.
“I went back inside on two occasions to get my colleagues out on my shoulder,” he told The Hindu . The people rescued by him were then safely brought down by people outside.
When he realised he would not survive inside any further, like some of his other colleagues, Siddiqui too jumped off the second floor.
Fortunately he, unlike some of his friends, did not sustain any fractures.
“The fire had spread so rapidly that we did not have time to even think. Before we could collect our wits, the exit from the building had been blocked by the fire below,” Siddiqui recollected.
Delayed response
Locals meanwhile alleged that the fire tenders arrived at least an hour after the fire broke out.
“Ghaziabad is right next to the Capital and this area is not congested either. Under these conditions, the delay by fire tenders was ridiculous,” said Jitendra, a man who works in an office opposite the IndiaMART building.
The dead include four executives and one office boy, all in their 20s, said IndiaMART employees.
The police said that the deaths appear to have been caused by asphyxiation even though they would wait for the autopsy report.
All the injured, including three rescuers, were admitted to private hospitals located around the accident spot.
They are all expected to survive. A senior police officer said that they would probe whether the fire safety mechanisms were in place and if or not the commercial activities were taking place against the land use policy.
A senior police officer said that they would probe whether the fire safety mechanisms were in place
