New Delhi [India], June 4 (ANI): A resident who joined rescue efforts during the fire tragedy at a hotel in Delhi's Malviya Nagar, which claimed 21 lives, said people trapped inside were banging on glass windows for help, prompting locals to throw bricks to break the panes and facilitate their escape.

Speaking to ANI, the resident recalled rushing to the spot after being alerted by his tenant and witnessing people desperately trying to get out of the burning building.

'My tenant came running and said, 'Brother, a fire has broken out.' I immediately rushed straight into her room and asked, 'Where is the fire?' She said, 'It's outside.' When I came into this lane, people inside were banging their hands against the glass windows. They were hitting it with whatever they had in their hands, but the glass wouldn't break. We threw bricks at the windows to smash the glass,' the local said.

According to the resident, after the windows were broken, some occupants managed to escape, including one person who jumped from the first floor and sustained an injury to his leg. He said locals then quickly arranged mattresses outside the building to help rescue people stranded on the upper floors.

'After that, we laid out mattresses as fast as we could. Some jumped from the third floor, some from the fourth; those people jumped onto the mattresses and were completely safe. We made around 15 people jump to safety. Inside, at the very most, there were around 30 people who perished. There were about 57 people in the entire building,' he said.

The resident claimed that a significant number of people remained trapped inside the building as the fire spread rapidly. Describing the conditions during the incident, he said the building had only one main entrance, where the fire had broken out, while access to the roof was locked. He further alleged that those in the basement did not survive, claiming that many succumbed to suffocation.

'The fire was raging horribly throughout. There is only one main entrance, and that's where the fire broke out. The roof upstairs was locked. The shutter downstairs was broken into; the main lock was on, which we broke. No one survived from the basement. There was no fire there--they died of suffocation,' said the local.

Meanwhile, accused Lovkesh Bajaj, who was arrested after a deadly fire broke out in Malviya Nagar a day earlier, has told Delhi Police during interrogation that he did not have time to personally manage or oversee the premises, sources said.

12 foreign nationals and 9 Indians were among the 21 people who were killed in the blaze.

Sources also stated that Bajaj claimed he had delegated day-to-day operations of the establishment to 'another person', who was handling billing, accounts and overall management.

He further allegedly told investigators that structural changes, including an increase in room size and modifications, were suggested by another person, who assured him that such arrangements were 'routine' and that 'everything works in Delhi,' sources added. (ANI)