Police personnel outside the Shastri Park building where six people suffocated to death on Friday.
| Photo Credit: ANI
Six people, including a toddler, suffocated to death after a mosquito coil tipped over on a mattress and sparked a fire in a four-storey building in north-east Delhi’s Shastri Park, the police said on Friday.
According to the police, the residents were asleep at the time of the incident and lost consciousness due to the toxic fumes from the ground floor where the blaze had started.
Engulfed in smoke
DCP (North East) Joy Tirkey said the police received information regarding the incident around 9 a.m. When they reached the building at Mazar Wala Road in Macchi Market, residents were struggling to rescue those who were lying unconscious. Eleven people were taken to Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital, the DCP said, adding that three fire tenders were rushed to the spot.
“Six of them died while two are being treated for burn injuries. Three others have been discharged after preliminary treatment,” said a police officer.
According to Akbar Ali, 33, owner of the building, the fire started in a ground floor room. By the time the ground floor residents discovered the blaze, smoke had spread across the building.
Residents alseep
“The entire first floor was filled with smoke,” Mr. Ali said, adding that most of the residents had gone to sleep after Sehri (pre-dawn meal before Ramzan fasting).
The deceased have been identified as Hamza, 3, Pashirul, 36, Dinesh, 26, Nisha, 25, and Fazlu Choudhary, 40. The identity of the sixth victim is yet to be ascertained, the police said.
The victims belong to different families and four of them were living as tenants.
