Smoke, screams and locked exits: Inside Delhi's deadliest hotel fire

Key points

• Thick black smoke, desperate cries for help and residents risking their own lives to rescue strangers.
• Hours after a devastating fire ripped through a hotel in Delhi's Malviya Nagar, killing 21 people, eyewitness accounts have revealed both the heroism that saved dozens of lives and the glaring safety failures that may have turned the blaze into a mass-casualty tragedy.
• As investigators examine possible violations of fire safety and building regulations, survivors and local residents have described scenes of chaos inside the hotel, where guests struggled to find a way out as smoke rapidly engulfed the building.
• Many of those trapped were relatives of patients undergoing treatment at nearby hospitals, while several foreign nationals were also staying at the property.
• SMOKE EVERYWHERE, NOWHERE TO ESCAPE According to eyewitnesses, the biggest challenge was not the flames but the dense smoke that spread through the hotel within minutes.