India, May 3 -- A massive fire ripped through a four-storey residential building in Delhi's Vivek Vihar area of Shahdara in the early hours of Sunday. At least nine people, including a toddler, were killed.

The blaze, which reportedly ignited between 3:13 am and 3:47 am, spread with terrifying speed across multiple flats on the second, third, and fourth floors. Witnesses recalled the fire trapping residents in grilled balconies and smoke-choked staircases. It took over five hours to finally bring the inferno under control.

Mayanak, a resident of the first floor, said he was woken up by frantic doorbell rings. "I was sleeping when neighbours came and rang the doorbell multiple times. When I woke up, I saw the back portion of the building...