Survivor haunted by Delhi workshop fire

Ajit's last memory, before falling unconscious, was seeing his colleagues trapped in an illegal workshop that was gutted in a fire Monday in the narrow lanes of Karol Bagh locality.

Quick-thinking by the 23-year-old saved his life but four of his colleagues were not lucky.

Police said they died in the blaze that broke out when Ajit was putting a white solvent in a spraying machine and it accidently spilled on the floor.

He says he was packing materials when he first sighted the flames.

"I was busy packing the material when the fire broke out. The flames were engulfing the rest of the area quickly. Think the fire broke out due to short circuit. There were six other workers present, including three who pressed clothes.

"Cloth material caught fire and spread at a rapid pace. As soon as I spotted flames, I rushed to the gate and managed to escape while others rushed towards the wall and got stuck there," said Ajit, who sustained minor injuries and is undergoing treatment at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.

The workshop was operational in a one-room unit which had just one window.

"I was screaming and warning them against going towards that area but I managed to escape and don't remember what happened after that since I fell unconscious," he said.

Ajit had been working in the workshop for nearly a year earned between Rs 8-10 thousand, he said.