Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh): Three people lost their lives after a tragic fire broke out in a house located near an ATM on Tuesday in Gwalior.
The fire broke out around 2 AM in the Bahodapur area, near the lane opposite Sant Kripal Singh's Ashram.
The victims have been identified as Vijay Gupta, 14-year-old Yashika, and 17-year-old Aishka. The cause of death for all three was determined to be suffocation.
Vijay Gupta, who ran a dry fruit business, lived in the house with his family. The fire is believed to have started due to a short circuit. The blaze began on the ground floor where the dry fruits were stored, and quickly spread to the upper floors where the family lived. Due to the flammable nature of dry fruits, the fire spread rapidly.
Local residents tried to extinguish the flames but were unsuccessful. The fire brigade arrived and managed to control the fire after significant effort. However, by that time, 42-year-old Vijay Gupta and his daughters, 17-year-old Anshika and 14-year-old Yashika, had already succumbed to the fire.
Vijay Gupta's wife, Suman, and their son, Ansh, survived as they were visiting her parents' home at the time of the fire.
According to locals, the fire brigade delayed their response, claiming that it took 1.5 hours for them to arrive. They also pointed out the lack of necessary equipment, such as long ladders and wall-breaking tools, which hindered the rescue operation. It was not until 4:30 AM that the victims were removed from the house by breaking a wall of the neighboring building. Residents believe that if the wall had been broken earlier, lives could have been saved.
The bodies of the deceased have been sent for post-mortem, and authorities are investigating the cause of the fire.
