A devastating fire in East Delhi’s Vivek Vihar area early Sunday morning resulted in nine fatalities, with investigators pointing to serious structural and safety shortcomings that hampered evacuation efforts.

The incident occurred in a basement-plus-four-storey residential building that had only a single staircase and no designated emergency exit. Each floor housed two apartments — one facing the front and the other at the rear. As flames rapidly engulfed the backside of the structure, occupants of the rear flats found themselves trapped.

Iron grilles installed on windows made it impossible for residents to jump out from the rear. Attempts to access the front portion of the building were also thwarted as the blaze had already spread there. Several residents attempted to reach the terrace in desperation, but discovered that the rooftop door was locked, eliminating what could have been their final escape route.

With thick smoke filling corridors and stairwells, many victims succumbed to suffocation before help could reach them.

The fire reportedly broke out around 3.30 am, when most residents were asleep. Officials said the flames quickly spread to an adjoining structure due to the minimal gap between the buildings, worsening the situation.

Eyewitnesses described chaotic scenes, with cries for help echoing through the night. According to locals, two children attempted to leap from the building’s front side in a bid to escape.

Emergency response teams, including the Delhi Fire Services, police personnel and disaster management units, were deployed to the site. Firefighters battled intense flames that had engulfed the second, third and fourth floors.

Authorities confirmed that nine members from two related families lost their lives. One body was recovered from the first floor, five from the second level, and three from the staircase area, which was reportedly found locked. Among the deceased was a toddler.

The victims on the second floor were identified as Arvind Jain (60), Anita Jain (58), Nishant Jain (35), Anchal Jain (33) and their child Akash Jain. On the third floor, Nitin Jain (50), Shailey Jain (48) and their son Samyak Jain (25) were found dead. On the first floor, Shikha Jain (45) died in the incident, while her husband Naveen Jain (48) survived with injuries.

Police have launched an investigation to ascertain the cause of the fire. Preliminary accounts from residents suggest that a possible air-conditioner explosion may have triggered the blaze, though officials have not confirmed the exact reason.

The tragedy has once again raised urgent questions about fire safety compliance, building design norms and the enforcement of emergency preparedness measures in residential complexes.