UPSC aspirant sends final message to brother seeking help before dying in Karol Bagh mall fire
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Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
A day after fire in Karol Bagh market, 2 found dead
New Delhi: Two people, a 25-year-old civil services aspirant and a 30-year-old lab technician, were killed in the massive fire at Vishal Mega Mart in central Delhi's Karol Bagh on Friday. According to the fire service, the building lacked a valid fire certificate and a case of negligence has been registered by police. The deceased were identified as Kumar Dhirender Pratap Singh and Pawan Gautam. Singh, originally from Sonbhadra in Uttar Pradesh, was found dead inside the elevator, where he is believed to have suffocated after getting trapped, while Gautam, an ITI graduate from Aligarh who worked as a lab technician, was found on the second floor. According to Delhi Fire Service, the blaze was reported at 6.44pm on Friday. Minutes later, Singh's brother, Vikram, received a desperate message from his trapped sibling. "At 6.51pm, my brother texted me about being stuck in the lift," Vikram revealed to TOI. "He pleaded, 'Kisi tarah se bachalo, main lift mein fasa hua hoon. Bohot suffocation ke kaaran saans lena mushkil ho raha hai' (Please save me however you can, I'm trapped in the lift. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Free P2,000 GCash eGift UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo I feel suffocated and cannot breathe)'." You Can Also Check: Delhi AQI | Weather in Delhi | Bank Holidays in Delhi | Public Holidays in Delhi Vikram, who was in Sonbhadra, immediately contacted his brother's friend to rush to Karol Bagh. "She went and requested authorities to check the lift around 7pm. They told her they had done it and hadn't detected anyone inside," he claimed. His body was eventually recovered at 2.30am on Saturday. "He was unconscious when we saw him. He was shirtless and in his vest, maybe because he used his shirt to cover his face to avoid the smoke," said Vikram. "I wish I had been there to go into the building and save him," he added. Before the tragedy, Singh had been studying in a library nearby for 4-5 hours, according to his friends. Vikram remembered his younger brother, "He had a good nature. Our mother is a govt schoolteacher in UP and he often volunteered to teach the students whenever he visited our village." The fire broke out in the multistorey building that housed Vishal Mega Mart, gutting its basement, ground, first, second and third floors. The structure had only two staircases and one lift, with no ventilation except the entrance. Preliminary investigations suggest the fire was caused by a short circuit on the second floor. Firefighting operations were severely hampered due to the lack of ventilation in the building. Fire officers had to use JCB machines to break open the front-facing parts of the upper floors to extinguish the flames, with 15 fire tenders and 90 firefighters engaged in the fierce struggle to control the massive blaze. TOI reached out to Vishal Mega Mart for a response, but the company had not replied at the time of filing this story.
The Hindu
7 hours ago
- The Hindu
Two killed in Karol Bagh mall blaze
Two men died in a massive fire that broke out inside a shopping mall in central Delhi's Karol Bagh, the police said on Saturday. The blaze started on the second floor of the four-storey Vishal Mega Mart at 6.44 p.m. on Friday. Thirteen fire tenders and 90 firefighters were rushed to the spot to douse the flames, said DCP (Central) Nidhin Valsan, adding that the blaze was so severe that cooling operations continued until early morning on Saturday. The officer said a short circuit on the second floor could have caused the fire that later spread to other floors, but a detailed probe to ascertain the cause is under way. He added that there were at least 93 people — 23 employees and 70 customers — in the mall at the time of the incident. The deceased were identified as Dhirender Pratap, 25, a resident of Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh, who was at the mall in search of a job, and Pawan Gautam, 30, a married IT professional and resident of Aligarh in U.P., who was shopping at the mall. The body of Pratap, who is suspected to have died of asphyxiation, was recovered from a lift. 'The body of the other victim was charred beyond recognition. It was identified by Gautam's friends who had reached the mall looking for him,' said a senior police officer. Pratap's family alleged laxity in the rescue operations. 'How come they did not check the lifts for people? They turned off the [mall's] power supply and left him to die,' alleged his brother, Vikram. 'Please save me' Mr. Vikram told The Hindu that his brother had sent him several messages pleading to be rescued. 'At 6.51 p.m., he sent a message on WhatsApp about a fire breaking out at the mall he was visiting. Dhirender said he was stuck in a lift and pleaded with me to save him,' he said. 'Saas phul rahi hai, kuch karo (I am out of breath, do something),' read a message. In response, the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) said it had immediately pressed into service the required manpower and fire engines to extinguish the flames and rescue those trapped inside. 'We received the call at 6.44 p.m., shortly after which our team reached the scene. It was difficult to enter the complex because the fire was spreading fast due to combustible items like groceries and clothes. It was around 2 a.m. that a body was found inside a lift,' said DFS Assistant Divisional Officer Ravi Nath. He added that the close proximity of buildings in the Karol Bagh market posed a challenge to firefighting operations. He said this made it difficult for fire tenders to reach the spot, contain the blaze, and prevent it from spreading to adjacent buildings. Case registered The police have registered a case under relevant sections of the BNS, including those pertaining to negligence. 'We are examining if safety protocols such as functional fire exits, extinguishers, and alarms were in place at the time of the fire,' said an officer.
India Gazette
11 hours ago
- India Gazette
"I'm stuck in lift...I can't breathe...Please save me": UPSC aspirant dies in Delhi's Karol Bagh fire
New Delhi [India], July 5 (ANI): A 26-year-old UPSC aspirant died of asphyxiation after being trapped in a lift during a major fire at a retail store in Delhi's Karol Bagh on Friday evening. The victim, identified as Dhirendra Pratap Singh, was found dead inside the elevator nearly eight hours after the fire broke out. Just before his death, Dhirendra sent a desperate message to his brother on WhatsApp, saying, 'Bhaiya, I'm stuck in the lift...I can't breathe... please save me.' He also made calls pleading for help, but was not rescued in time. His body was recovered from the lift at around 2:30 am by rescue teams. Dhirendra, a native of Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh, had been living in a PG accommodation in Karol Bagh and was preparing for the UPSC Civil Services Examination. He had recently cleared the Prelims and was preparing for the Mains exam. He held a Political Science degree and was pursuing his Master's. Speaking to ANI, Vikram said, 'My brother had gone to Vishal Mega Mart to shop in the evening. At 6:51 PM, I received a WhatsApp message from him saying he had been trapped inside the lift and was struggling to breathe. He called me too and said, 'Mujhe bacha lo, main lift mein phas gaya hoon, saans phool rahi hai'.' 'He was the most disciplined and hard-working person. He wanted to serve the country as a civil servant. Instead, due to someone else's carelessness, he died a painful death,' said his brother Vikram Singh, holding back tears. He alleged that the store staff did not respond and that they switched off the power and fled. 'No one tried to rescue him. Even the police did not respond initially. We kept pleading for help till late at night. It was only at 2:30 AM that the store acknowledged someone was trapped inside,' he added. Dhirendra's sister, Dr Swati, said, 'My brother is gone, but their mall will reopen. People use lifts with trolley bags every day in malls. Why did no one check if anyone was inside? They turned off the power and left. Their store will be repaired, but my brother won't come back,' she said. According to Delhi Fire Service officer Ravi Nath, a fire call was received at 6:44 PM on Friday from Vishal Mega Mart. 'It's a ground plus three-floor structure. One male body was recovered from the lift around 2 AM. The cause of the fire, availability of fire safety equipment, and status of fire NOC are under investigation,' he said. (ANI)
