According to the fire department official, the incident took place at around 9:30 pm. While three people died, three others sustained burn injuries. The deceased have been identified as Mithilesh, her 20-year old daughter Kavita and her 15-year old daughter Anjali.
According to police officials, there was a cylinder blast at Mithilesh’s hutment when she went to the kitchen to prepare dinner. In the cylinder blast, Mithilesh and her two daughters were charred to death.
Relatives alleged that Kavita was three months pregnant, added police. Meanwhile, Anjali’s husband somehow managed to escape.
Police said that the locals ran to rescue the women, but the fire spread quickly and no one could enter the hutment. The locals then informed the police and also called the fire department.
According to a fire department official, the fire personnel doused the flames in half an hour and pulled out the charred bodies from inside the hutment. All three women sustained 100 per cent burn wounds. Their bodies have been sent for postmortem examination.
Sources said that the three hutments or jhuggis were burnt to the ground. Locals alleged that the family had saved up around Rs 30,000 cash to repay their debts which was also destroyed in the fire. The woman had saved cash, clothes and jewellery for her daughter’s wedding that was completely charred. The father has nowhere to go now.
Deaths from cylinder blasts have become a common affair in the national Capital. Just two months back in May, a 28-year-old man along with his 22-year-old sister was allegedly charred to death due to cylinder blast in their house in Jafrabad area. The deceased have been identified as Kamal and Geeta.
According to the fire department officials, they had received a call at around 3:45 pm that a fire broke out in a house. Four fire tenders were rushed to the spot.
In a separate incident, a massive fire broke out at Gulab Sweets in North-west Delhi’s Pitampura area in the early hours on Wednesday. According to a fire department official, 13 to 14 fire tenders were rushed to the spot to control the blaze. No casualties or injuries were reported in the incident, added the fire official.
According to the officer, the fire broke out at around 6 am on the first floor of Gulab Sweets in Pitampura. It quickly spread to the second floor of the four-storeyed building. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.