A man dangling from a fourth-floor window, a mother hurling her child from a burning building in the hope she would survive, and the stench of dead bodies — for those who witnessed it, the morning of Wednesday in Malviya Nagar will not be easily forgotten.
At least 21 people, including 11 foreign nationals, died in the devastating fire at a bed-and-breakfast in the south Delhi neighbourhood. But locals are asking whether some could have been saved had the rooftop not been locked.
“When we went inside we saw that the fire had only reached the third floor. We tried taking some who were still breathing towards the roof but it was locked. We couldn’t save them,” Mohammad Afzal, one of the first responders, told CNN-News18.
His cousin Anees, who has
a heart condition, did not stop to find a mask. “I just used my T-shirt to cover my nose. Had I waited for a blanket or mask it would have been too late. Inside the hotel it was pitch dark, everything filled with smoke. We felt our way in using our arms and legs. When we stepped on a limb we realised someone was lying there — that is how we pulled out some bodies, some survivors.”
ALSO READ: ‘Roof Was Locked, Many Could Have Lived’: Eyewitness Recounts Malviya Nagar Hotel Fire Horror
‘Bodies charred beyond recognition’
Videos shared by eyewitnesses showed guests jumping from a third-floor window to save themselves, with locals laying out mattresses to break their fall. Many bodies were charred beyond recognition; others had died from smoke inhalation.
The building’s glass exterior proved a deadly obstacle. “The glass used on the exterior of the building was unbreakable. We hurled bricks and stones at it so that some people could get out, but nothing worked. Finally, a cousin of ours got an iron rod and went from floor to floor breaking the glass,” Afzal said.
Another first responder, Fazal, added: “Inside, we saw people had picked up pressure cookers to break the glass facade but had failed. The cookers lay next to the bodies.”
Flourish Stay B&B, located near Max Hospital in Saket, catered largely to visitors from African and Central Asian countries who had come to Delhi for medical treatment and were seeking affordable accommodation.
Police said almost all identity documents were lost in the fire, making the identification of victims more difficult.
