Delhi: Woman, two kids dead as fire breaks out after gas leak in Anand Parbat

Police identified the victims as Sushila and her seven-year-old twin daughters, Mansi and Mohan. Officials said Sushila’s husband, Rajesh

A 36-year-old woman and two of her four children were killed in a fire caused by a cooking gas leakage in their one-room concrete house in central Delhi’s Anand Parbat, police said on Wednesday.

Fire department officials said a cooking gas leakage triggered a fire in a one-room house in Anand Parbat. A woman and her seven-year-old twins died in the blaze, police said. (HT Photo)

Officials said the gas leak occurred when one of the victim’s daughters was cooking food on Tuesday morning.

Police identified the victims as Sushila and her seven-year-old twins, Mansi and Mohan. According to police, two other daughters, Mehak (13) and Monika (8), managed to flee while Sushila tried in vain wake up the twins and escape before the house erupted in flames. Monika sustained 30% burns during the incident and is currently undergoing treatment.Sushila’s husband Rajesh had left for work just 10-15 minutes before the incident.

Talking to HT, Rajesh said that he was not even halfway through when he got a call from a neighbour about the fire. “I was taken aback and rushed back home. The flames were erupting from everywhere. I could not even hear anyone screaming but was told that a few minutes ago, they could hear my wife and kids crying for help, and that it stopped one after the other. My daughter Mehak told me that she was cooking when suddenly, there was a gas leakage and fire following it. She told me that they were all trying to escape but since her siblings were asleep when the fire broke out, my wife took more time to get them outside. Mehak was awake so she rushed out on her mother’s command, but the others got stuck inside and couldn’t escape,” he said.

Deputy commissioner of police (central) Shweta Chauhan said when the police team reached the house, four people were found with burn injuries and were rushed to Ram Manohar Lohia hospital in a PCR van. “Fire was caused due to leakage in a rubber pipe which connects the cylinder to the burner... Rajesh was away at his workplace at Lawrence Road where he works at an Atta chakki,” said DCP Chauhan.

The DCP said the woman was declared brought dead to RML hospital and the twins died during treatment on Tuesday evening.

“Although the cylinder did not explode, the leakage of the gas caused the fire to spread rapidly and the victims couldn’t escape. Inquest proceedings are being done,” said the cop.