How local resident risked his life, helped save seven from burning South Delhi hotel
Wasim Raza, a resident of Hauz Rani, sustained injuries while helping trapped guests and assisting police in the rescue operation.
Wasim Raza, security officer at Max Hospital Saket. (Express Photo/AP) Among the first responders to the South Delhi fire was Wasim Raza, a resident of Hauz Rani in South Delhi’s Malviya Nagar, who spent hours helping rescue guests trapped inside the burning building.
As flames engulfed Flourish B&B, he said he and other residents spread mattresses across the road below while people trapped on the upper floors jumped to safety.
According to him, several people were trapped in the basement and he, along with Delhi Police personnel, helped cut through an iron window grill to reach them. “There were two rooms in the basement,” he said, adding that he helped rescue seven people.
Inside the building, he said the scenes were harrowing. “We pulled out the charred body of a young woman. There was also a person in a wheelchair,” Raza said. He added that he administered CPR to three victims in an attempt to revive them.
Raza said he also found several Nigerian nationals unconscious inside bathrooms on the first and second floors and helped bring them out of the building.
South Delhi blaze: Local resident cut through window grill, gave CPR to victims
Read report: https://t.co/YroQ2jCvcE pic.twitter.com/fzxXizZiGt— The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) June 3, 2026
A security staff member at Max Hospital, Raza sustained injuries during the rescue operation. He said his feet were cut after he stepped on shattered glass while moving through the debris.
The bed and breakfast was a much sought-after place to stay for foreigners from African countries who came to Delhi on medical visas, said sources, located near three major medical establishments: AIIMS, Max Hospital in Saket, and Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya Hospital.
The Delhi Police has registered an FIR under the section of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against unknown persons. Sources said the building did not have a fire No-Objection Certificate as well.
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