At least three people lost their lives while two others remain in critical condition after a massive fire engulfed a residential building in southeast Delhi's Tughlakabad.
Residents of the neighbourhood launched rescue efforts on their own, with several locals rushing into the smoke-filled building to save those trapped inside.
Among them was 45-year-old Renu Bhutani, who said that she was awake at the time due to her habit of watching crime dramas at night.
She and her son entered the building by climbing up to the roof, where they used stones to puncture the water tanks to reduce the smoke and quell the fire.
They then drenched themselves in water and entered the building, saving two girls who had called to them from the fourth floor and another couple on the third floor.
However, they were unable to travel below the third floor due to the thick smoke.
A 16-year-old boy, Krishna Kashyap, who lives next door, said screams for help alerted residents and the entire locality rushed to assist.
He described how one person on the second floor tied his wife's sari to the balcony rail and climbed down, while others used a sari to help two girls on the second floor climb down.
Firefighters rescued five occupants from inside the building and later climbed to the terrace, where they cut open a locked gate to rescue two girls believed to have taken shelter on the rooftop.
The blaze was brought under control around 3.45 am and completely extinguished by 4 am.
