Hyderabad, June 5 -- As guests trapped inside a burning hotel in Delhi's Malviya Nagar searched desperately for a way to escape, mattress trader Riyazuddin Mansuri and his son Armaan Mansuri turned their shop's stock into makeshift rescue equipment that helped save at least eight lives.

"When I saw people trapped, I took out the mattresses. Saving lives was more important," Riyazuddin told reporters after the incident, according to media reports.

The father-son duo reportedly dragged 25 to 30 mattresses from their nearby shop and spread them on the road below the hotel. As smoke engulfed the building, several guests jumped from windows onto the mattresses, escaping what could have been fatal falls.

In a fire that claimed 21 lives, the ...