Two sisters Gulashna (14) and Anaya (12) were suffocated to death in a bathroom on the second floor of their multi-storey house in Sadar Bazar area on Tuesday.
Despite the firefighters' efforts, the sisters suffocated to death in a bathroom on the second floor of their multi-storey house on Chameliyan Road, where they had locked themselves after the fire erupted.
Two sisters Gulashna (14) and Anaya (12) were suffocated to death in a bathroom on the second floor of their multi-storey house in Sadar Bazar area on Tuesday.
Firefighters wearing gas masks hurried through staircases and rooms filled with thick black smoke only to find the sisters trapped inside their burning residence on Chameliyan Road, where they had locked themselves after the fire erupted.
A senior Delhi Fire Services official, who was part of the rescue operation, said, "Thick smoke filled the entire building as it had a central air conditioning system. The building had glass windows and poor ventilation which trapped the smoke."
According to him, a fire started in a music system and quickly spread to other electronic devices and wooden objects in the house. Upon seeing the flames, Gulashna and Anaya sought refuge in a bathroom located on the second floor of their home.
"The two girls locked themselves inside the bathroom. There were three to four rooms on the second floor of the house and the firefighters had to wear gas masks to enter the building for the search operation. We had to break open the bathroom door. The girls were found lying unconscious and were rushed to the hospital," said the official to PTI.
The sisters were declared dead at the hospital, according to police.
According to a close friend of the victims' family told PTI that Gulashna and Anaya had come back from school in the afternoon and were asleep when the fire broke out.
Their mother and aunt were also present at home during the incident but were able to escape in time.
The father, who is a businessman, and their brothers had left the house, as mentioned by the family friend.
The police stated that the house consisted of a parking area on the ground floor and additional floors above it.
Delhi minister Atishi condoled the loss of lives.
In a post on X in Hindi, she said, "The fire incident in Sadar Bazar is extremely tragic. The death of two girls in this incident is very unfortunate. May God give courage to their family."
She stated that the local government has been asked to submit a report regarding the incident.
According to information from the fire department, a total of 43 people died in fire incidents in Delhi from January 1 to March 26.