A crane driver helped save over 50 people from a burning building in Delhi’s Mundka area on May 13, news agency ANI reported. The blaze has led to 27 deaths.
Dayanand Tiwari was coming in from Mundka Udyog Nagar when he saw that a fire had erupted at a four-storey building. Fire tenders had not arrived there yet, according to the report.
Tiwari, his helper and the crane’s owner then swung into action, rescuing over 50 people using the machine.
"Later, the fire turned huge and we could not rescue others,” Tiwari told ANI. “Our crane owner and helper were also present during the rescue operation. It was a very frightening sight.”
The death toll from the fire is expected to rise as 19 people who were trapped in the building are still missing, news agency PTI reported, quoting officials.
The fire had started on the first floor of the building on the evening on May 13. The building only had one exit and entry point each and lacked fire-fighting equipment.
"The building had a single escape route which is why there were so many casualties. Twenty-seven people have died," Atul Garg, the chief of Delhi Fire Services, said. "The building also did not have a proper blueprint. Most of the bodies were found on the second floor."
The police have arrested the building’s owner Manish Lalra.
Brothers Harish and Varun Goel, who owned the office where the fire is believed to have started, have also been taken into custody, PTI reported.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI)
