Delhi: Family's long-awaited Goa break ends in nightclub blaze; relatives scramble to shelter kids

Vinod Kumar along with his wife and her three sisters left Delhi less than a week ago for their longawaited vacation in Goa as his mother watched them step out with bags and bade them a cheery farewellOn Monday she sat by the same door waiting unaware that her younger son elder daughterinlaw and two close relatives would never return after losing their lives in a fireThe massive blaze in the early hours of Sunday tore through a Goan nightclub in Arpora killing 25 peopleFour of the five Delhi residents all members of Kumars family were among those who diedThe fifth Bhavna Joshi survived with injuries police saidThe deceased were identified as Vinod Kumar 43 Kamla Joshi 42 Anita Joshi 41 and Saroj Joshi 39The injured Bhavna is Vinods wife and a sister to the three deceased womenKamla was married to Vinods elder brother NaveenTheir relatives said the four sisters had been planning the trip for months hoping for a few days of rest now that their children were older and no longer wholly dependent on themVinod had accompanied them so that they would feel safe and supported during the journeyThe five left their Karawal Nagar homes with excitement expecting a brief break from routineMahipal Singh Bhandari a longtime neighbour of the family said the loss was impossible to graspI have been staying next to this family for almost 40 years It is extremely heartbreaking that four members of the same family lost their lives because of someone elses irresponsibility he saidHarish a relative and a neighbour said the tragedy had shaken the neighbourhoodIncidents like these must be stopped before they even begin Even if you look at the Rajendra Nagar coaching centre issue that too should have been prevented Proper checks are essential Wherever crowds gather exits must be open and firesafety norms must be followed by every organisation he saidHe further said he heard that this club had been ordered shut and yet it reportedly kept running illegally despite several noticesHe added that the government must be held responsibleStrict action is needed and those responsible must not be spared Families have lost their sons husbands children brothers sisters wives and daughters and this is not something you can ignore Five of them set out for a Goa vacation four of them got lost forever he saidAt their home in Karawal Nagar relatives are struggling to shield the children and the elderly mother from the truthVinod and Bhavna are survived by their two children an 11yearold son and a sixyearold daughterThey have been kept away from the stream of neighbours and relatives arriving at the house neighbours saidMeanwhile the 18yearold daughter and 14yearold son of Kamla have barely spoken since they received the news relatives said adding that they were waiting for their mother to return and bring souvenirs from GoaIn a different room Vinods mother waits unaware that the goodbyes she said to four members of the family have turned out to be the final onesRelatives say she keeps asking if the injured have been shifted to a safer hospitalShe believes they will be brought home any moment a local resident said adding No one knows how she will react when she learns the truthThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever