The fire broke out at 3 am and could be controlled only after an hour, the police said. According to the police, the fire broke out in an electric meter due to a short-circuit and spread to other areas.

The fire department officials pulled out five persons from the house. Four of them were declared “brought dead” as they died due to suffocation.

The deceased have been identified as Sanjay Verma (40), his father Vijay Verma (63) and his children, Harshu (12) and Chiku (four). Sanjay Verma’s wife Mona (34) is undergoing treatment at GTB Hospital with 40 per cent burn injuries.

The accident happened when the victims had slept after celebrating the daughter, Harshu’s birthday.  

“The family was celebrating the birthday of their daughter Harshu on Thursday evening. Fire started at around 2.52 am after we saw the smoke. We immediately informed the fire department as well as police about the incident,” Anil Sharma, an eyewitness told Hindustan Times. 

A Hindustan Times report says that help got delayed as fire tenders could not reach the spot due to the vehicles which were parked on both sides of the colony road.

“The fire fighters along with the locals had to lift parked cars manually in order to make way for the tenders,” Chief Fire Officer Atul Garg said.

(With inputs from PTI)

(Feature image is representational | Source: PTI)