NEW DELHI: The tragedy that drew a family to Delhi in the hope of saving one life has ended by claiming them all. Seventy-eight-year-old Radhe Shyam Aggarwal, the only surviving member of the Gurugram family devastated by the June 3 fire at a B&B in Hauz Rani, died on Tuesday morning while undergoing treatment at Max Hospital in Saket.
His death comes a week after eight members of his family and relatives, who had gathered in Delhi to care for him during a critical illness, were killed in the blaze.
Aggarwal had been admitted to the hospital’s ICU in May for a lung ailment. He remained on ventilator support during his treatment and passed away at around 11.15 am on Tuesday.
Eight family members had checked into Flourish Stays, the B&B located a few minutes from the hospital, so they could remain close while he underwent treatment. What followed was a tragedy that neighbours say has left an entire community struggling to comprehend the scale of the loss.
On the morning of June 3, a fire broke out at the B&B premises, killing eight members of the family and their relatives. Among those who died were Aggarwal’s son, Vivek Aggarwal; Vivek’s wife, Tarjani; their two daughters, Jeevisha and Variya; and Aggarwal’s wife, Premlata.
The blaze also claimed the lives of Vivek’s maternal uncle, Ashok Goyal as well as Premlata’s sister Kamla and her husband Javri Lal, taking the death toll from the family to eight.