Panchkula colony fire leaves 2 dead

“Both Upender and Vinod came running out of their shack. They were badly engulfed in flames and screaming for help. By the time we could help them,they had already fallen unconscious. When the police reached the spot and took them to the hospital,they were no more,” said Umesh,an area resident who too sustained minor injuries while trying to help Vinod.

“Upender wanted to study. His mother had recently passed away. Both his elder sisters are married and his father works in Assam. He used to feel very lonely back home. Thus,I brought him here and was looking for some way to get him admitted to some school,” Jatin told Newsline.

Jatin,a road-side fish vendor,had gone to sell fish in the neighbouring area and saw the flames on his way back home. He reached the spot and found that both Upender and Vinod had been taken to the hospital with severe injuries.

“A couple of other shacks,too,were partially damaged but the people could escape unhurt because the impact was not that much. The earthern lamp was the reason for the fire. The thatch caught fire,which spread quickly and thus this unfortunate incident took place”,said a Fire Department official.

After the incident,senior officials of the Panchkula administration reached the spot. Panchkula MLA D K Bansal has announced a relief of Rs 1.5 lakh each to the families of both the deceased.