“Bhaiya, I Can’t Breathe…”: Man Dies Trapped in Elevator During Delhi Mega Mart Fire

“Bhaiya, ab saans phool raha hai. Kuch karo…” (“Brother, I can’t breathe. Do something.”)
This was the final message 25-year-old Kumar Dhirender Pratap sent to his elder brother as he lay trapped inside an elevator at Vishal Mega Mart in Delhi’s Karol Bagh, while a fire engulfed the building.

Two people were killed in the blaze that broke out at the retail outlet on Friday evening. Kumar Dhirender Pratap was found dead in the elevator. A second charred body, also male, was later recovered from the premises, according to PTI.

Dhirender had gone shopping in the evening. At 6:51 PM, his brother Virendra Vikram received a chilling WhatsApp message from him: he was stuck in the lift and struggling to breathe.

“He also called me, pleading, ‘Mujhe bacha lo, main lift mein phas gaya hoon, saans phool rahi hai’ (Please save me, I’m stuck in the lift and can’t breathe),” Virendra told ANI.

Virendra said he immediately alerted police, but alleged that no help came for hours.

“I kept calling and pleading, but there was no response until nearly 9 PM. I felt helpless. I kept praying someone would reach him in time,” he said.

He also accused store staff of negligence, saying they turned off the power and fled without attempting any rescue.

“No one helped us. We kept begging for assistance late into the night. Only around 2:30 AM did the store admit that someone was trapped inside,” he added.

“Smoke Burned Him from the Inside”

Dhirender’s body was eventually recovered during a joint operation by the fire department, police, and disaster response teams.

“Just imagine the pain of dying like that—suffocating, with smoke burning your insides,” Virendra said. “When I saw him, there was blood from his nose. He suffered. That moment broke me.”

The family revealed that Dhirender had recently appeared for the UPSC prelims and had just returned to Delhi after a break at home. He was living in a rented flat in Karol Bagh.

Their mother, still in Varanasi, is unaware of her son’s death. “We’ve told her he’s injured. She won’t be able to bear the truth,” said Virendra.