Panic gripped the Maujpur area of northeast Delhi on Tuesday night after a fast-spreading fire broke out inside a local eatery situated along Jaffrabad Main Road. The blaze ignited around 10:30 PM inside Udham Fish Point, a restaurant located within the jurisdiction of the Welcome police station. As flames quickly engulfed parts of the kitchen, thick and suffocating smoke billowed across the premises, cutting off escape routes for those dining on the upper level. Terrified visitors, desperate to escape inhalation and heat, rushed toward the upper windows and began leaping out with young children. Fortunately, an alert gathering of local residents assembled below on the street and successfully caught the falling occupants, averting a potential catastrophe.
Flames Spread from Kitchen Waste Bin to Cooking Oil
The owner of the establishment, Abdul Azeem, explained that the fire initially sparked inside a trash bin kept in the kitchen area. Within moments, the minor fire managed to catch a neighboring stack of cooking oil cartons, causing the combustion to intensify abruptly. Restaurant workers acted swiftly and deployed portable fire extinguisher cylinders to suppress the active flames. However, despite rapidly putting out the fire, intense and pungent smoke had already saturated the entire building, plunging the interior into total darkness and triggering widespread panic among diners who struggled to breathe.
Chaos on the First Floor and Window Rescues
Approximately 80 people were present across the dining establishment when the emergency unfolded. While customers seated on the ground floor managed to rush out through the main exit immediately, between 30 and 35 diners on the first floor found themselves trapped. As shared in video footage circulating online, the scene turned harrowing when a man leaned out of an upper-floor window and dropped two children down to the crowd waiting below, who caught them safely in their arms. Other patrons soon jumped down as well, while several people used an adjacent utility pole and an arranged ladder to scramble down to safety.
Fire Tenders Dispatched as All Diners Escape Unharmed
Upon receiving the emergency call, the Delhi Fire Services promptly dispatched six fire tenders to the location on Jaffrabad Main Road. By the time emergency crews and local police arrived, the quick thinking of neighborhood residents had ensured the building was fully evacuated. Police officials confirmed that no customers or staff members sustained burn injuries or suffered any casualties during the ordeal. The immediate response and presence of mind shown by the local crowd helped all 80 occupants escape the smoke-filled building safely.
