India News | Anand Vihar Fire Victims Died While Trying to Save Company's 'expensive' Machine: Police Source
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The three labourers who were charred to death in a fire were attempting to save an "expensive" machine belonging to the company they worked for, a source in the police said on Wednesday, a day after the tragedy.
New Delhi, Mar 12 (PTI) The three labourers who were charred to death in a fire were attempting to save an "expensive" machine belonging to the company they worked for, a source in the police said on Wednesday, a day after the tragedy.
"When they were trying to save the machine, they were unable to open the door, leading to them losing consciousness due to asphyxiation and getting charred to death," the source said.
A fire in a makeshift hut near East Delhi's Anand Vihar triggered a cylinder blast early Tuesday, killing three occupants, two of them brothers, while one managed to escape.
According to police, the victims were Jaggi, 30, Shyam Singh, 40, and Kanta Prasad, 37, while Nitin Singh, 32, managed to escape.
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A police source said that while Nitin Singh escaped by jumping off the wall, the others struggled to save the machine.
"They had put a lock on the gate of the hut, while Nitin Singh did not waste any time and jumped off the wall by tearing the plastic put above the hut. Others tried to unlock the gate as asphyxiation started to set in. They lost consciousness and were charred to death," he said.
In his statement to the police, Nitin said the rest of the occupants escaped through the front.
"He must have thought that others who were trapped inside of the tent were able to escape from the front since he saw them trying to unlock the gate," the source said.
The Delhi Fire Services received a distress call at 2.22 am and dispatched three fire tenders to the scene near the AGCR Enclave.
A fire official said the flames were brought under control by 2.50 am, but by that time, three people had died.
Delhi Police said it has registered an FIR against unknown persons at the Anand Vihar Police Station under Section 106(1) (causing death by negligence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
"Multiple teams have been formed to probe the incident," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara) Prashant Gautam said.
The deceased lived in a makeshift hut near a DDA plot on the Manglam Road.
"They reportedly used a small container of diesel placed on a cooler stand as a source of light in the hut. Nitin, the survivor, said that around 2 am, Shyam Singh woke up and noticed the fire. He tried to unlock the door but failed. As the blaze intensified, Nitin managed to escape, but the other three got trapped in the flames," the officer said.
A cylinder explosion exacerbated the situation, it said.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)