Fire in Delhi’s Kohat Enclave leaves four of family dead

A couple and their two children died after a major fire broke out at a multi storey building in Kohat Enclave area in north-west Delhi on early Friday.

Rakesh Nagpal (40), his wife Tina (37) their son Himanshu (8) and daughter Shreya (3) died due to suffocation after they got trapped in their flat located on the first floor of the building, police said.

“The deaths are due to suffocation. No burn injuries found on the bodies. Three other residents of the building were injured and taken to Ambedkar Hospital,” said a police official.

The fire had erupted around 2.40 am on the ground floor where cars were parked. The security guard, who saw a spark in an electricity meter on the ground floor, alerted the residents of the building. While all others moved out of the building, Nagpal’s family didn’t responded to the door bells or phone calls

Rakesh Nagpal his wife Tina.  

By the time the victims realised the situation, they couldn’t escape and were trapped. The fire raged for two hours before it was put down. Eight fire tenders rushed to the spot to douse fire, said police.

Five vehicles parked in the basement of the building were destroyed in the fire.

“The bodies have been shifted to post-mortem. A forensic team will visit the building to collect samples to investigate the cause of fire. We will also find out if there was any delay in rescue operation,” said a senior police official.