NEW DELHI: It was anything but an ordinary morning in Vivek Vihar. Instead of calm streets and waking households, towering flames tore through a residential building, with thick smoke.
The silence after the flames were extinguished was even more haunting, as grief replaced panic.
Jyotjit Sabarwal, head of the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Sewa Dal’s disaster unit, said accessibility was a major challenge. “We got information around 6 am and rushed with our team. The first body was found on the second floor. As we moved ahead, five more bodies were found on the third floor. On reaching the top floor, it was clear several people were trapped. A digital lock reportedly prevented their escape,” he said.
Volunteers packed the bodies and transported them to Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital mortuary. “The bodies were stuck to the floor and hot at that time. We poured water before lifting them,” he added.
A resident said the fire started on the second floor and spread rapidly. “Someone alerted us around 3:30 am. We ran downstairs, but soon the staircase was engulfed,” he said. Another resident, Vikas Sahani, said, “If firefighters hadn’t arrived within minutes, more lives could have been lost.”