37-year-old businessman dies after fire in Hauz Khas Village
NEW DELHI: After a fire broke out at a residence in South Delhi’s Hauz Khas Village, a real estate businessman died of suffocation while his friend who hails from France was injured in the incident. The fire broke out early on Wednesday when the duo was sleeping.
According to police and the fire department, they received a call at around 5.45 am and three fire tenders were rushed to the spot. “Due to narrow lanes in Hauz Khas Village, fire tenders could not enter inside, and therefore, they were parked at the main road and the firemen rushed inside with huge water pipes to douse the flames that occurred on the first floor of the building. The fire was brought under control within two hours,” a senior fire official said.
The duo — Gourav Taneja (37) and Anklora (23), who were staying together for the past one year — were rescued from the bathroom where they rushed in to save themselves and got locked. They were rushed to Safdarjung hospital. Taneja, who was living at the rented accommodation (where the fire broke out) for the past few months, was declared brought dead while his friend Anklora is recuperating and was unconscious at the time of admission to the hospital.
Anklora, is a second-year student of International Affairs at O P Jindal University and has come to India on student’s visa. On Monday, she visited Taneja’s house. After the fire broke out, the duo locked themselves in the bathroom and few minutes later became unconscious due to suffocation. The neighbour who reported the fire said the residents tried to douse it off by spraying water and applying fire extinguishers as the firemen reached the spot late. “The fire is suspected to have originated from a short-circuit but the investigations are on to find the exact cause,” said a cop.