Delhi hotel fire: Locals turn saviours amid wails, screams, burning bodies

As heavy smoke engulfed the five-storey bed-and-breakfast hotel in Delhi’s Hauz Rani area on Wednesday morning, June 3, 2026, locals rushed to save the trapped occupants before fire crews arrived.

The fire, which broke out around 08.30 in the morning, spread to three floors of the building, and many guests were trapped inside due to heavy smoke and panic. The establishment reportedly had only one common entry and exit point and no emergency staircase.

Delhi hotel fire LIVE updates on June 3, 2026

Riyazuddin, 61, who runs a roadside shop opposite the building, said he quickly removed mattresses from his hut and spread them under the windows of the building to help people jump to safety.

After a while, trapped citizens started jumping out of windows to escape the flames. Not all rooms had windows, some were tightly closed and unbreakable.

“I laid out about 15 mattresses. A man fell from the second floor and broke his leg. Everything was extremely tense,” said Riyazuddin.

Later, another resident, Mohammed Israr Khan, also helped push people out the window. Mr Khan, 40, rushed to the scene after receiving a call from his brother at around 8.40am. Wasim, along with Amir, Shahrukh, Afzal, Hazi and Anish, helped rescue the victims and carry them to ambulances.

Due to its proximity to Max Hospital, there are many hotels in the region used by patients and their families visiting the capital for treatment. Locals also said that the majority of residents are foreign nationals with medical visas.

“When we entered the building with the police and rescue teams, we could not see anything. Only smoke, screams and cries were coming from every floor,” said Mr. Khan. “Many people were trapped in the basement. Some bodies were still burning, but we used our bare hands. Time is critical in such situations.”

Mr Khan said he performed CPR on eight people. “I vomited several times. It was a deadly sight. About five people we took out were already dead,” he said. While Mr Khan was helping with the rescue, a victim’s phone rang. “The person who asked about her child was her mother. I couldn’t say anything and gave the phone to the police. I didn’t want to be the one to give the bad news,” he said.

Rescue teams said the building’s single entry-exit point and lack of accessible windows made the rescue operation difficult. Some volunteers and police personnel reportedly fainted after inhaling the smoke.

Another resident, Wasim Raja, said he found two women unconscious in the bathroom where they had locked themselves to escape the fire. “I carried them on a mattress alone. Most of the people staying there were already weak and had come to Delhi for treatment.”

“A mother and her child bought medicine from me yesterday. They were supposed to go to Agra today. I don’t know if they were able to do it,” said a local pharmacist whose shop has been in the narrow street for over 27 years.

Hours after the fire was extinguished, panic continued in the neighborhood, where many multi-storey hotels are crisscrossed by electrical cables dangling in narrow streets. Many guests staying at nearby hostels were seen checking out with their luggage, fearing safety in similar buildings, many of which have only one staircase and no fire equipment.

Among them was a man who came from Lucknow after hearing the news of the fire. “My father is staying here for treatment and cannot speak. I was supposed to come tomorrow, but as soon as I heard the news that the hotel was named, I got on the first plane because it looked like the hotel where my father stayed,” he said.