Crane driver turns saviour
Tiwari rescues over 50 people trapped in the fire-hit building
hile the firetenders allegedly reached the Mundka fire incident site late, a crane driver proved a saviour for over 50 people, mostly women, by rescuing them while the building was engulfed in razing fire.
Dayanand Tiwari was driving the crane along with the owner of the vehicle when he approached the ill-fated four-storey building caught in fire, with fire-tenders allegedly not in sight on May 13.
The fire incident claimed 27 lives while a number of people are reported to be missing.
Tiwari managed to save more than 50 lives with the help of the crane and the local bystanders. He, however, was saddened for not saving more people as the razing fire had spread quickly. “I was coming from Mundka Udyog Nagar when I saw the fire in the building. With the help of the crane, we rescued over 50 people, mostly women,” he said
Tiwari, who had the crane owner and a helper on his aide, recalled the horrific incident and said that the fire tenders had reached the spot after one and a half hours. “Later, the fire turned huge and we could not rescue others. Our crane owner and helper were also present during the rescue operation. It was a very frightening sight,” he said.
On Sunday, two forensic science teams reached the site of the fire mishap to assist the Delhi Police in the investigation of the Mundka fire incident. The charred remains of the victims have also been found at the site. The police have said that a forensic DNA examination would be carried out to identify the identities of the deceased.
“Our two teams, including senior experts, are working at the spot currently. They will identify the remains, and lift samples for the purpose of identification. The experts from FSL will be assisting police in identifying and lifting samples from the spot which will be later handed over to the Investigating Officer,” said Deepa Verma, Director, Forensic Science Laboratory in an official statement.
Building owner arrested
Delhi Police on Sunday arrested the owner of the ill-fated building. Manish Lakra, who was absconding after the incident, was nabbed after the police conducted multiple raids in Delhi and Haryana.
The police arrested company owners Harish Goel and Varun Goel in the matter on Saturday.
Deputy Commissioner of Police outer district Sameer Sharma on Saturday assured action against concerned officers if they are found guilty in the investigation. — ani
“We have registered FIR under appropriate sections. Action will be taken against everyone who did anything wrong or didn’t follow rules. We will do a proper investigation, action will be taken against officers too if they’re found culpable,” Sharma had said. — ani