A couple and their three children died while several others sustained injuries when a fire broke out at a slum cluster in northwest Delhi's Bhalswa Dairy area in the wee hours today.
The deceased were identified as Kalam (35), his wife Ravina (32), who was visually impaired, and their three sons -- Salamat (8), Niyamat (6) and eight months old Ajmat.
They were natives of Madhubani district in Bihar, a senior police official said.
"Around 3 AM we received a call about a fire at four slums near Raja Masjid in Bhalswa Dairy area. Two fire tenders were rushed to the spot and the blaze was brought under control in 30 minutes. However, five persons were dead by then. A cooling operation was launched at around 3.30 AM," a fire official said.
Teams of Delhi Disaster Management Authority and police stations under the Model Town sub-division were also rushed to the spot, the fire official added.
The five members of the family, along with few others who sustained injuries in the process of trying to douse the fire themselves, were rushed to Babu Jagjivan Ram Hospital, where Kalam, Ravina and the three children were declared brought dead, a police official said.
The cause of fire is yet to be ascertained.
The official said that the police will also be examining as to why Kalam's family couldn't escape the fire.
As of now, it is suspected that they choked to death while they were asleep and and later their bodies were charred in the fire, the police said.
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Later in the day, Delhi government announced Rs 8 lakh compensation to the kin of deceased family -- Rs 2 lakh each for deceased adults and Rs 1 lakh for each deceased child.
The entire amount will be for family child orphaned who is currently in Bihar. The government has also decided to give Rs 25,000 for each of four juggies burnt in the incident.
