Dhanbad fire kills 5 of family as unaware daughter was getting married

• Five members of her family lost their lives in the blaze that broke out at a highrise
• Swati left home for the wedding venue, at about 4 pm
• Her father, mother and family members were getting ready for the wedding when the fire broke out

Little did Swati know that while she was taking her wedding vows, five members of her family lost their lives in a fire that broke out in a high-rise building in Jharkhand's Dhanbad. The bride lived with her family in an apartment on the fourth floor of Ashirwad Tower in Joraphatak, where a fire broke out on Tuesday evening, killing 14 people.

Swati left home for the wedding venue - Siddhi Vinayak Resort, about a kilometer away, at around 4 pm her father Subodh Lal, her mother, and other family members were still in the flat preparing for the wedding when the fire broke out on the second floor at around 6.15 pm. While her father could escape the flames, Swati's mother along with her grandparents and two others were engulfed in the inferno, a family member said.

The wedding rituals began at the spot, and even as Swati kept asking about her mother and grandparents, he said, "She was not told about the tragedy immediately. Her father was later taken to the spot, but as he was in shock, he could not participate in the rituals. Some other family members completed the rituals," said Manoj Kumar. Sahu, a friend of Lal.

"Only the 'Sindur Daan' ritual was performed. Other rituals including 'Varmala' could not be performed," he said. Lal, 55, runs a wholesale cosmetics business in Purana Bazar in Dhanbad town. Swati married Sourav, a resident of Giridih, he works in an IT company in Bengaluru.