Around 80 people were staying at Hotel Arpit Palace and most of the rooms were booked, which was quite rare for the establishment, said locals. On Tuesday, 17 people, including foreign nationals, lost their lives when the Karol Bagh hotel caught fire.

Three Myanmar nationals who died in the tragedy had come to the city on Monday, said their acquaintance, Gyandeep, a monk from Tripura.

On a pilgrimage

He said the group was on a pilgrimage across India.

“They were eight people in the group, including a photographer, assigned by their travel agent from Burma. Three of them have died, including the photographer. One woman is injured and the other four are fine,” he said. The acquaintance said the group had plans to visit a place of worship in New Delhi’s Sant Nagar near Iskon Temple. “The injured woman – Chan Mya Mya Nyein – jumped from the second floor to save herself. She sustained a spinal injury,” he said.

An IRS officer deployed as an assistant commissioner at the Income Tax Department, Suresh Kumar, who was staying at the hotel for nearly two years, died in the tragedy.

His family resides in Panchkula while he was posted in Delhi.

“It was his wedding anniversary today [Tuesday]. He used to stay at the hotel for four days and go home over the weekend. He would also come and stay with us at times. We have been told that he jumped to save himself and died on the spot,” said Anubhav, Kumar’s nephew.

The victim is survived by his wife and a son, who is pursuing graduation in Bengaluru, the family said.

Sole breadwinner Tara Ram, chef at the hotel, also died in the fire. His brother-in-law Virendra said Ram was working at the hotel for nearly two years and used to reside with his family in Shadipur’s Baljeet Nagar.

“He has four children, including two daughters. His eldest son is about 10 years old. How will the wife manage now?” he said, adding that they had told his wife that he was injured.

The family has been told that Ram from Uttarakhand had jumped from the building to save himself.