Sarthak (10) (extreme left) and Akshara (8) (extreme right). Their parents were not home when the fire broke out. (Express photo)
Written by SHREYANSI SINGH
Two children were killed after a fire broke out in a four-storey building in north Delhi’s Adarsh Nagar on Friday night.
According to police, around 10 pm, a short circuit in an air conditioner on the first floor sparked off the blaze. It then spread to the second floor, where the kids were staying. Residents claimed that the AC was emitting sparks and had been repaired just three hours before the blaze.
Police said the children, 10-year-old Sarthak and eight-year-old Akshara, had tried to escape the blaze. “While Akshara tried to gain access to the ventilation shaft, her brother ran inside the bathroom. The boy was found semi-conscious while the girl’s charred body was found near the staircase. Both were declared dead on arrival at Babu Jagjivan Ram Hospital. The boy died of suffocation,” said a senior fire official.
Police added that the children’s parents were not home when the fire broke out. According to fire officials, around 10 fire tenders were sent to the spot to douse the flames. While most of the residents managed to get out, the children remained trapped inside.
Giridh Lal, a relative, said, “We tried to alert the children about the fire but it had spread to the second floor by then.”
Ashok Bansal, a neighbour, said, “I rushed to the first floor, just as the fire started to spread. I managed to bring the old lady who lives there down the stairs. It was then that she mentioned the children. But it was too late by then.”