New Delhi, 10 June

A father and his two children were killed when they jumped to escape a massive fire that broke out in the top floors of a housing apartment in Delhi's Dwarka area on Tuesday morning.

According to police, two children (a boy and a girl, both aged 10) jumped from the balcony to save themselves. Injured, they were rushed to Akash Hospital, where they were declared dead.

Later, their father, Yash Yadav, 35, also jumped from the balcony. He was declared dead at IGI Hospital.

Two more people, Yadav's wife and his niece, were rushed to Akash Hospital with injuries. Yadav had flex board business, police said.

Visuals from the site showed the building in Sector 13's Shapath Society engulfed in flames with people below gathered in balconies and crying for help.

Police said the fire broke out in the eighth and ninth of the housing apartment located near MRV School.

According to the Delhi Fire Service, the department received a call about the blaze at 10.01 am.

Initially, eight fire tenders were rushed to the spot, but as the magnitude of the fire became evident, more engines were deployed.

"The fire could be seen from a long distance. Black smoke was billowing out of the upper floors, and flames were leaping out of the seventh-floor flat," a fire officer present at the spot said.

Videos circulating on social media showed passersby filming the fire on their mobile phones.

"God help them!" a video recorded by a woman from an adjacent building had a voice say.

A police officer said, "All residents of the society have been evacuated, and all essential services such as electricity and PNG connections have been shut down."

DDA and MCD have been informed to assess the structural stability of the building, he said.

Residents who could rush out of the building prayed for the safety of those trapped inside. People on the sixth floor were seen smashing windows.

"Those who were on the lower floors managed to evacuate quickly. But those higher up had a harrowing time. We saw some residents trying to climb onto balconies and signal for help," a local said.

The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.

Firefighting operations were still underway, with over a dozen fire tenders deployed at the site.