Four children killed in Delhi slum fire
By IANSWednesday, January 6, 2010
NEW DELHI - Four children belonging to the same family were burnt to death in a fire that broke out in their shanty in a Delhi slum Wednesday morning, police said.
The deceased were identified as Deepa, 15, Shilpa, 10, eight-year-old Sunil, and three-year-old Lakshmi.
According to police officials, the children were sleeping with their widowed mother Anu when the fire broke out in their shanty in Sarita Vihar in south east Delhi around 1.45 a.m. Wednesday morning.
Anu, who also suffered burn injuries, was admitted in a government hospital. The cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained.
“Anu came out in a rush and by then the fire had spread too fast. She couldn’t get back in with her burns and take out her children,” a police officer said.
The police said Anu works as a housemaid at nearby colonies. Her husband had died three years ago.
The fire department officials said they rushed seven fire tenders and doused the flames before they could spread to nearby dwellings.
