A family from Gurugram lost eight members, including a chartered accountant, his wife, two daughters, his mother, and three other relatives, in a devastating fire that engulfed the Flourish Stay B&B in Delhi's Malviya Nagar on Wednesday morning. The blaze killed 21 people, including several foreign nationals, and injured many others, according to news agency PTI.
Standing outside a hospital mortuary on Thursday, Mahender Garg struggled to come to terms with the loss of his cousin, 48-year-old Vivek Agarwal, and seven other family members. 'My entire family has been destroyed. We never imagined something like this could happen to us,' Garg said.
Recalling his last conversation with Vivek moments before the tragedy unfolded, Garg said, 'He called me about 10 minutes before the incident got worse. He was frantically saying, “I am trapped in the basement. Please send the fire brigade quickly and get me out of here.”'
'All eight are gone. My entire family has been destroyed. They came here hoping that my cousin’s father would recover from his illness. Instead, we are taking back the bodies of our loved ones,' he added. According to relatives, the family had booked rooms at the hotel because it was located close to the hospital where Vivek’s father, Radhe Shyam Agarwal, was undergoing treatment.
As post-mortem examinations continued through the day, the bodies of the deceased family members were handed over to relatives and taken to their residence in Gurugram, where the last rites are expected to be performed in the evening. 'There are no words to describe this loss. In a few hours, everything changed,' a grieving family member said.
According to news agency PTI, family members also raised questions over the hotel’s safety measures, alleging that the building’s layout left occupants with little chance of escaping. 'The hotel is located in a highly congested area. Going in and out is a hassle. There was only one exit point and a single staircase. Everything was covered with glass, and even the windows had iron grills,' Garg alleged.
Prem Bansal, father of Tarjini Agarwal, said the tragedy had devastated both sides of the family. 'Out of the eight people involved, five died from my side of the family,' he said. Another relative said, 'My sister, my brother-in-law and my two nieces are gone. One of the girls had come from Bengaluru just two days ago. She was studying there in college and had come to see her grandfather.'
Officials said the fire broke out at the hotel on Wednesday morning and spread rapidly through the narrow multi-storey building. Preliminary findings pointed to serious fire-safety lapses, while local residents alleged that sealed windows, a single staircase, and restricted exits turned the building into a death trap.
