Two minor children died after a massive fire broke out in a four-storey building in Delhi on Tuesday morning, police said.
According to fire officials, they received a call at around 1.06 pm regarding the fire at a building at Shaheen Bagh's Abu Fazal Enclave area. Five fire tenders were rushed to the spot and the blaze was brought under control at around 1.50 pm, the department said.
The fire broke out around 1 pm on the first floor of a house owned by a person named Ehsaan Malik. The victims have been identified as Aisha, 6, and his nephew Zayad, 5, police said.
Police received information about the fire in a building in Abul Fazal enclave. After reaching the spot, it was found that a fire broke out in a building due to which two children were injured and they were rushed to a nearby hospital, said Chinmoy Biswal, deputy commissioner of police (southeast).
They died during treatment, police said.
According to a senior police officer, Hazi Yasin, the owner of the building, used to run a furniture shop at ground floor and at the basement.
He has three sons Salman, Ehsaan and Dilshad. On the first floor, Yasin and his wife used to stay, while his three sons live on the second and third floor of the building with their respective families, police said.
When the incident happened, Yasin, along with Salman, Ehsaan and Dilshad, was at shop while the women of the families were at the second floor and the kids were playing at the first floor.
A short-circuit occurred at the first floor following which the fire engulfed the floor and a thick smoke started coming out of it. The women, who were on the second floor, tried to come down but could not succeed as the fire came to the stairs, police said.
They were rescued from back side of the building by police and the locals but the kids could not be saved as they were trapped at the first floor which was completely gutted by the time the fire department doused the fire, they said.
Zayad had sustained 100-per cent burns and Aisha died due to suffocation, the officer said.