Three injured in slum fire in Vasant Kunj

New Delhi A 35-year-old suffered burns while trying to save two children from a fire that broke out in Rangpuri JJ Cluster in south Delhi’s Vasant Kunj during the early hours on Friday

New Delhi

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A 35-year-old suffered burns while trying to save two children from a fire that broke out in Rangpuri JJ Cluster in south Delhi’s Vasant Kunj during the early hours on Friday. Senior officers said the two children sustained minor burns in the incident. All three of them are stated to be stable.

Police said the blaze started around 2.30 am at Bengali Basti, apparently from a heap of garbage that probably caught fire from a cigarette. The fire soon spread to nearby areas and at least 14 jhuggis were gutted. As soon as the residents of the jhuggi cluster spotted the fire, they raised the alarm.

The police received a call reporting the fire at 2.45 am. They immediately alerted the Delhi Fire Service (DFS) and ten fire tenders were rushed to the spot to contain the blaze. Atul Garg, director, DFS said it took his men at least three hours of firefighting to contain the blaze. The cooling operations, however, went on for a little longer. “Three people — a man and two children — were injured in the blaze and they were taken to Safdarjung hospital by the police,” he said.

Deputy commissioner of police (south-west) Ingit Pratap Singh said that they have learnt that the man, identified as Mukesh Singh, 35, was injured while trying to save two children, who were trapped in one of the jhuggis during the fire. The two children are aged 4 and 2 years. They have also sustained minor burns. All three were taken to a hospital for treatment. All of them are fine now,” the DCP said.