Five of a family die in Bhubaneswar fire

BY THE TIME THE FIRE FIGHTERS ARRIVED, THE FIVE SLEEPING ON THE FIRST FLOOR HAD BEEN ASPHYXIATED TO DEATH

Five members of a prominent hotelier’s family in Bhubaneswar suffocated to death in their sleep after a fire blazed through their residence early Thursday morning.

Satpal Singh’s son, daughterin-law and grandchildren choked to death in the fire that reportedly started at around 4am in their house at Buddheswari Colony in Bhubaneswar.

By the time the fire fighters arrived at 5.25 am, the five sleeping in the first floor had been asphyxiated to death, sources said. Singh, who was sleeping in another room, was injured.

Fire department officials said the fire started from an air conditioner and soon smoke spread to different rooms of the second floor of the three-storey building. “Almost all of them died due to suffocation. They probably died in their sleep soon after the fire started. Even those sleeping on ground floor and security guard did not know about the fire till the fire tenders arrived,” said a fire service official.

The bodies have been sent to Capital Hospital in the city for post-mortem.

Singh, a leading member of Sikh community in Bhubaneswar and president of the local Gurudwara, owns Pal Heights Hotel, a three-star hotel. The deceased were identified as Satpal’s younger son Gagan Pal Singh (40), daughter-in-law Bhavana Singh (38), granddaughter Sohabi Singh (15), grandson Rubir Singh (8), and house help Khusi Das (15).