Fire injures 17 children in West- Delhi slum

The fire broke out at a grocery where a lot of people had gathered to make their purchases.

A fire caused by a leaking LPG cylinder on Tuesday morning injured 29 people including 17 children in the AO block slum in Shalimar Bagh. Doctors say 10 of the victims are in a critical condition.
Police and eyewitnesses say the fire started around 8.30am when the owner of a grocery in the slum, Ram Bachhan was transferring LPG from a large cylinder into smaller ones in order to sell them. This was a time when the slum residents were preparing their morning meal. Eyewitnesses say the gas began to leak while being transferred and caught flame after coming into contact with fire from one of the several chulhas in the vicinity.
The fire spread along the narrow lanes of the slum injuring people, many of whom had come to the grocery to buy supplies. Children were burnt as they played alongside their mothers who themselves suffered burns as they carried out chores outside their homes. A resident of the slum, Ravi’s nephews Neeraj age 3 and Palak age 5 were injured in the inferno. He escaped as the fire did not reach his house. “We were lucky the cylinder did not explode, otherwise the entire slum would have been destroyed.”
Fire engines arrived on the spot soon after, but were unable to reach the congested area. However the residents themselves managed to put out the blaze by 9am.
The injured were rushed to the nearby Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital.
Deputy M S (medical superintendent) of Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital Dr. Chanderkant said “We received patients with upwards of 70 % burns. We have transferred the serious cases to Lok Nayak Hospital for specialised care.
Additional MS of Lok Nayak Hospital Dr. JN Sharma said “we have deputed senior specialists to take care of the patients”.
One of those severely burnt was fifteen year old Saurabh who was filling water from a pump outside his home when he was caught in the fire. The evening school student of class 8 suffered burns across his face, back, arms and legs. His parents look on helplessly even as doctors at the Lok Nayak Hospital privately place his chance for survival as slim. Some residents who escaped the blast, only heard of what happened to their family members when they came back from their workplaces or in the case of eight year old Radha when she came back from school. A class two student of Nagar Nigam School in Shalimar Bagh, Radha sat wearing her dark blue school uniform outside her one room home waiting for her parents to return. Her younger sister Priyanka, a kindergarten student in the same school sat beside her.
Radha’s sister 13 year old Arti and her mother Sunaina Devi lay alongside each other, sharing a bed at Bapu Jagjivan Memorial Hospital. Arti was supposed to be at school but stayed at home after complaining of pain having received an injection the day before. Next to Sunaina Devi, lay 7 month old Sarwar who escaped the fire being asleep in the house of a relative at the time.
Sunaina Devi’s husband Purshottam who suffered burns to his legs had been admitted to Lok Nayak Hospital. Sunaina Devi has not heard from him nor has she spoken to her daughters Radha and Priyanka.
Neighbours say with confidence that they will provide food and shelter for the two girls who haven’t eaten since they got back from school. Ram Narayan Chaudhry, a neighbor says “ Itna darre hue hain ki subah se chulha nahi jalaya. ”

( I've been covering a lot of fires in the last week. Probably something to do with all the 40degree heat. One thing is for sure- whenever someone says they wish they covered the crime beat, they probably haven't seen the inside of a burns ward)