Father, two children die jumping from 10th floor to escape Delhi apartment blaze

A quiet morning turned to horror in Delhi’s Dwarka Sector 13 on June 10, as a father and two children leapt to their deaths from the balcony of a burning 10th-floor duplex. Yash Yadav (40), his 10-year-old daughter, and 10-year-old nephew died after fire engulfed their flat in the Shabad Co-operative Housing Society.

According to fire officials, the blaze started around 9:58 AM on the ninth floor, possibly from the puja room where the family had been hosting relatives for a Bhagwat Katha. What began as a sacred gathering turned into tragedy within minutes.

“Most family members escaped through a side exit to the terrace,” said Additional DCP Nishant Gupta. “But two children were left behind. Yash ran back in to save them. Trapped on the balcony as the fire intensified, we believe they panicked and jumped, hoping to survive the fall. All three died.”

The children — one the daughter of Yadav and the other his nephew — were declared dead on arrival at Akash Hospital. Yadav succumbed to injuries at Indira Gandhi Hospital.

Five fire tenders were rushed to the scene, and the remaining residents of the complex were safely evacuated. Power and piped gas supplies were cut off as a precaution. Officials said five people were rescued from the burning unit and treated for injuries.

‘We were getting ready for the puja’

The extended Yadav family had traveled from Uttar Pradesh’s Etah district to attend the religious ceremony. Survivors described waking to the smell of smoke, the home filling rapidly with black fumes.

“I escaped through a balcony to the lower floor… my aunt and others reached the terrace,” said a 17-year-old nephew. “I don’t know when my uncle and cousins got separated. They were right behind us.”

At the hospital, grief hung heavy. Meera, Yadav’s sister who had organized the puja, wept uncontrollably. A relative, Kaushal Yadav, alleged negligence by neighbors: “Smoke was pouring out. No one called the fire brigade. They just watched. Those three could’ve been saved.”

‘He built everything on his own’

Amit Bhandari, Yadav’s longtime friend, described him as a driven, self-made man. “He came to Delhi young, worked in the flex printing business. I remember when he casually said he’d buy his own machine — and then did it.”

When COVID shuttered his flex unit, Yadav pivoted to modular kitchens and interiors, joining hands with Fabre and launching his own design venture. “He never gave up. He built a life brick by brick,” Bhandari said.

Now, that life is gone — consumed in minutes by smoke and fire.