India, March 19 -- As the fire inched closer and smoke enveloped them, at least six members of a family who were killed in a fire at four-storey building in Palam Colony, southwest Delhi, spent an agonising 90 minutes pleading for rescue from the third floor, before collapsing. While the cause of the fire has yet to be established, concerns have been raised over the fire department's response time.

Nine people were killed and three people were seriously injured in the fire. Lado Kashyap (70) and her daughter, Himanshi (22) were killed on the second floor. Her son, Sachin (28), who was also on the second floor, managed to save himself by dashing up to the terrace and then jumping to the terrace of the adjacent building.

Among the nine pe...