Blaze at Sohna house kills two, 1 hurt
GURUGRAM: Two persons were killed after a fire broke out at a house in main market of Sohna town on Thursday afternoon. It is suspected that the fire started because of welding work being carried out on the ground floor of the house. It soon engulfed the building as a large quantity of paint was stored there. Four fire tenders from Sohna, Gurugram and Nuh were pressed into service to douse the fire, officials said.
Despite strenuous efforts by the rescue officials, two persons, identified as Suman, wife of Ravi Madan, who owns the house, and carpenter Nain Singh could not be rescued. They succumbed to their injuries. Another person, identified as Sanjay, suffered severe burns in the incident and is under treatment at Delhi’s Safdurjung hospital.
Eyewitnesses said that due to presence of paint, thinner and other inflammable materials, the fire engulfed the building within minutes and turned everything into cinder. The owner told the police that all the valuables, including cash, jewellery and other items, were destroyed.
Although it has not been confirmed what caused the fire, officials said that welding work was being carried out inside the house and it was likely that sparks reached the gas cylinders kept inside the house, which caught fire.
Officials later pressed heavy cranes into service to break the walls of the house so people still stuck inside could be rescued.
A large number of people in the market, who had gathered at the spot, also tried to rescue the woman and the carpenter, but nothing could be done because of the sizeable stockpile of inflammable material, the police said.
The Sohna market was closed after the incident.