Delhi, June 4, 2026 — Eight members of a single extended family from Gurugram were among the 21 people killed in the devastating fire at Flourish Stay, a bed-and-breakfast facility in south Delhi's Malviya Nagar. The tragedy unfolded as the family had gathered in the city for one reason: to be close to a sick relative fighting for his life in a nearby hospital.
Vivek Aggarwal, a Gurugram resident, had checked into the B&B to stay close to his father, Radhe Shyam Aggarwal, who is undergoing treatment for a lung ailment in the ICU of Max Hospital in Saket. Vivek was accompanied by his mother Premlata, wife Tarjani, and two daughters, Jeeviska and Waria. His aunt and uncle, Kamla and Jhimri Lal Aggarwal, and cousin Ashok Goyal, who had travelled from Kishangarh in Uttar Pradesh, had also checked in. None of them survived.
Just fifteen minutes before the fire, Vivek's father-in-law Prem Bansal had spoken to his daughter Tarjani on the phone. She had told him it was too early in the morning for a hospital visit and disconnected. Minutes later, Vivek's brother Mahender received a call saying the family was trapped in the basement of the burning building. By the time Mahender arrived, flames and smoke were billowing from the multi-storey structure.
By afternoon, around 50 members of the Aggarwal family had gathered outside Max Hospital, moving between enquiry desks and checking their phones for any news of their loved ones. "We just want to know where they are, dead or alive," said Yogesh Aggarwal, a relative who had rushed to the AIIMS Trauma Centre.
Radhe Shyam, the ailing patriarch whose treatment had brought the entire family to Delhi, has not yet been told about the deaths. "The doctors had said his health had worsened. That is why all the close relatives had come from afar," said Sarita Devi, another family member.
Adding to the grief is a troubling account from the scene. A relative present during the rescue alleged that Delhi Fire Services arrived without the tools needed to pry open the building's shutters. It was local residents and family members who broke open the windows themselves to allow firefighters access to the building.
The building owner has since been arrested. Police are questioning hotel staff and locals as they work to reconstruct the sequence of events that led to one of Delhi's deadliest fire tragedies in recent memory.