NEW DELHI: A fire that ripped through a hotel in south Delhi’s Malviya Nagar on Wednesday morning killed eight members of a Gurugram family who had travelled to the capital to visit an ailing relative, turning what was meant to be a brief hospital visit into a devastating tragedy.
The victims, including a chartered accountant, his wife, two daughters and elderly relatives, were staying on the first floor when the blaze broke out, leaving them with little chance to escape. By the time relatives traced them to Max Hospital, all eight had succumbed.
Among the victims was Vivek Agarwal, 47, a chartered accountant from Sector 46, Gurugram, who had travelled to Delhi with his family to visit his ailing father, Radhe Shyam Agarwal in his late 70s admitted to Max Hospital. The hospital was at a walking distance of the hotel, approximately 500 metres away.
Those killed include Agarwal’s mother Premlata, his wife Tarini Agarwal, 42, daughters Angel alias Jivisa (17) and Pearl alias Baria (20), aunt Kamla Goyal, and uncles Jhumri Lal Goyal and Ashok Goyal. One of the younger girls had recently cleared her Class 10 examinations.
Relatives said the elderly couple, Jhumri Lal Goyal and Kamla Goyal, had arrived at the hotel around 4 am on Wednesday from Ajmer and had gone to sleep, unaware of the disaster that would follow. The family never got a chance to meet Vivek’s father. The family had reportedly booked two rooms on the first floor of the building, where the fire later broke out, trapping them inside.
“It all happened so suddenly. I had spoken to Vivek last evening asking about his father. Someone in the family saw a news alert this morning about a fire in Malviya Nagar. By around 1 pm, we realised it was them. We rushed to the hotel and were told everyone had been shifted to Max Hospital. When we reached, we found out that all of them had died,” a relative waiting for the body at Max hospital said.
Another relative alleged confusion and delays at the hospital while trying to locate the victims. “We tried to enter the burn ward, but authorities told us there were mostly foreign nationals admitted. I insisted on checking, and after repeated requests, I found one of Vivek’s daughters inside. Only then did the staff acknowledge the mistake and apologise,” the relative said.
At Max Hospital and the AIIMS mortuary, over 20 grieving family members of Vivek and Tarini had gathered throughout the day, with women breaking down and younger relatives trying to console them. Some rushed between facilities as authorities coordinated the handling of bodies.
Neighbours in Gurugram described Agarwal as a gentle and community-oriented individual. “He was always active in RWA matters and very approachable. His wife also ran an NGO,” a neighbour, Yogeder Yadav, said.