Hathras House Fire: Elderly Couple Killed in Uttar Pradesh as Son’s Family Was Away at Wedding

A massive fire broke out in a house in Hathras around midnight, killing an elderly couple who were burnt alive (X Photo: Gaurav Kumar).

Hathras: An elderly husband and wife died in a house fire in Sadabad in the early hours of Thursday. Both were asleep when a fire suddenly broke out in the house at around 2 am. Within a short time, it engulfed the entire house.

The fire spread so fast that the couple did not get a chance to get out. They were alone in the house at the time. Their younger son had gone with his family to attend a wedding. Police, the fire brigade and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) reached the spot on receiving information, but both had already died.

Couple Were Alone at Home After Son Left for Wedding

The incident took place in Mohalla Kaharan in the Sadabad Kotwali area. Shahzad (71), who lived here, worked stitching clothes. He lived in the house with his wife, Salma Begum (65). As on any other day, the couple had dinner on Wednesday night and went to sleep.

The couple's younger son also lived with them. On Wednesday, however, he had gone with his family to attend a wedding at his in-laws' place. The couple's other children live separately. For this reason, only Shahzad and Salma Begum were in the house when the fire broke out.

Fire Spread Through Whole House at Around 2 am

At around 2 am, a fire broke out in the house for reasons not yet known. It spread rapidly and engulfed the entire house. As it was night and both were asleep, they were late in realising that a fire had broken out. By the time they could understand what was happening, the fire had spread widely. They did not get a chance to leave the house and died in the fire.

SDRF Team Arrived From Vrindavan

Police and fire brigade teams reached the spot as soon as they were informed of the fire. Given its seriousness, the SDRF was also called. The team started relief and rescue work on arrival. The fire was brought under control after considerable effort.

SDRF officer Rajat Kumar said his team was on duty in Vrindavan. On receiving information about the house fire in Sadabad, he reached the spot with his personnel and got the rescue work started.

Bodies Sent for Post-Mortem

Police have taken the bodies into custody and sent them for post-mortem. The cause of the fire is being ascertained. The deaths of Shahzad and Salma Begum have plunged the family into grief. People of the locality are also saddened by two deaths in one house.