A 29-year-old Iraqi national who had come to India with his family for a relative’s medical treatment, died in the hotel fire in south Delhi’s Malviya Nagar, with relatives saying he was unable to escape using the stairs due to the thick smoke all around.
Ali Amer Mosa was among three from his family staying at the bed and breakfast where a massive fire broke out in the early hours, killing 21 people and injuring dozens of people.
Twelve of the deceased were foreigners whose relatives were being treated in hospitals nearby.
His Brother-in-Law, Habib Abid, in his 50s, said the family had been staying in the building for about a week while his son, Haider, around 18 or 19 years of age, was undergoing treatment for a brain tumour in Saket.
According to Habib, the blaze spread rapidly through the upper floors, filling corridors with dense smoke and forcing occupants to look for ways to escape from windows as visibility dropped sharply.
“I was staying on the fifth floor. I survived because I climbed out of the building through the window,” Habib said.
Habib said he was sleeping when the fire broke out and had no time to understand what had just transpired in the building. “All I could see was thick black smoke.” “Ali died because he took the stairs. He couldn’t escape,” he said, recalling the moments after the fire broke out.
Habib, whose son is still undergoing treatment at a hospital, said he was completing formalities to receive Ali’s body from the AIIMS mortuary.
A day after the tragedy, the narrow lane leading to the hotel remained cordoned off as police and forensic teams continued inspection of the gutted structure. Residents gathered nearby, speaking in low voices, as the smell of smoke still lingered in parts of the area.
For many in the neighbourhood, the visuals from Wednesday morning have left a lasting psychological impact.
Police said the area had been sealed for investigation and safety assessment. They are examining fire safety compliance and evacuation arrangements in the building as part of the probe.
Officials have arrested the hotel owner and are questioning others linked to its operations. Further investigation is underway to reconstruct the sequence of events that led to the fire.
The Tribune, now published from Chandigarh, started publication on February 2, 1881, in Lahore (now in Pakistan). It was started by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, a public-spirited philanthropist, and is run by a trust comprising five eminent persons as trustees.
The Tribune, the largest selling English daily in North India, publishes news and views without any bias or prejudice of any kind. Restraint and moderation, rather than agitational language and partisanship, are the hallmarks of the newspaper. It is an independent newspaper in the real sense of the term.
The Tribune has two sister publications, Punjabi Tribune (in Punjabi) and Dainik Tribune (in Hindi).
Remembering Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia
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