3 of a Guj family among 4killed in fire at Ajmer hotel
Ajmer: A devastating fire broke out at a five-storey hotel in Ajmer's congested Diggi Bazaar area on Thursday morning, claiming four lives and leaving six others, including a firefighter, injured. The deceased include three members of a family from Gujarat, who had come to offer prayers at Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti's dargah in Ajmer.
The tragedy happened less than 48 hours after 14 people lost their lives in a Kolkata hotel blaze on Tuesday night. The fire started around 8am due to a suspected short circuit in an air conditioner on the fourth floor of Hotel Naaz, located along the route to the dargah, and quickly engulfed the whole building. The victims were trapped on the fifth floor.
In a heroic rescue effort, civil defence personnel instructed a mother to throw her three-year-old son from the fourth floor, successfully catching him mid-air. The mother and child both survived. A youth who jumped from the building was also rescued by the team.
Firefighters reached the spot within 20 minutes, but it took nearly three hours to control the blaze. "The narrow streets posed a significant challenge to the rescue operation," said additional district magistrate Gajendra Singh Rathore.
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The district administration evacuated nearby establishments as a precautionary measure.
The deceased were identified as Mohammad Jaid (40) from Moti Nagar in Delhi, and Alfez Mohammad (40), his wife Shabnam (32) and their four-year-old son Arman from Amreli in Gujarat. Firefighter Krishna Kumar and the five other injured are undergoing treatment at state govt-run JLN Hospital.
JLN Medical College principal Dr Anil Samariya said one of the injured had sustained 90% burns, while the others had 50-60% burns.
One of the guests, Manilal from Delhi, said he was checking out when there was a loud blast. He and his wife ran towards the exit to save themselves.
District collector Lok Bandhu has ordered an investigation into the incident. The probe will look into all aspects, including whether the hotel, which has 11 rooms and can accommodate 22 guests, was constructed according to norms and was adhering to safety regulations.
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