Delhi: Three of family killed by blaze in home due to cooking gas leakage

New Delhi: Three members of a family died after a fire broke out in their house in central Delhi’s Anand Parbat due to a leakage in the cooking gas cylinder, police said on Wednesday. The deceased were identified as Sushila (36), her daughter Mansi (7) and her son Mohan (7), they said. Fire officials said two fire tenders were deployed to douse the blaze. The incident took place on Tuesday morning when Sushila’s eldest daughter Mehak (13) was cooking food for her mother and three siblings, who were asleep. A fire broke out due to leakage in the rubber pipe of the gas cylinder, the police said. After the fire broke out, Mehak ran out of the family’s rented accommodation, screaming for help. Sushila woke up and tried to get out with her other three children but could not as her saree caught fire, they said. After receiving information about the fire, police personnel reached the spot and rushed the injured to Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital in a PCR van, Deputy Commissioner of Police (central) Shweta Chauhan said. Sushila, Mansi and Mohan succumbed to their injuries during treatment. Sushila’s third daughter Monika (9) is undergoing treatment at RML Hospital, the police said. Although the cylinder did not explode, the fire spread rapidly due to the gas leakage, they said. Due to the narrow streets in the area, the ambulance and fire tenders faced difficulty in reaching the spot, they said. Sushila’s husband, Rakesh, who works at a flour mill in Lawrence Road and was not home at the time of the incident, said his neighbours informed him about the fire. “When I got back, I saw my daughter Mehak sitting outside and crying. I wanted to save my family but it was very late. My neighbours said that Sushila could not come out as she tried to save the three children,” he said. Police said the bodies were handed over to the family after a post-mortem examination.