Fireman Rajesh Shukla was hailed as a hero for rescuing 11 people who were stuck in Delhi's Anaj Mandi area building where a massive fire broke out on Sunday morning. The fire claimed the lives of 43 and left over 50 people injured.
The fire was reported early on Sunday, following which 30 fire tenders were rushed to the spot in Anaj Mandi on Rani Jhansi Road in Delhi.
While some of the people were taken to Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan Hospital (LNJP), others were taken to RML Hospital, Lady Hardinge Hospital and Hindu Rao Hospital as well.
Rajesh Shukla is among the heroes who saved the lives of several who were stuck in the building.
He entered the building and pulled out 11 people out of the multi-storey building. He even sustained leg injuries and is currently being treated at the LNJP Hospital.
Racing past smoke-filled corridors, the Delhi Fire Service personnel said he entered the building at least 12 times before his breathing apparatus exhausted. During the operation, he suffered injuries to his knee-cap and had a severe headache owing to inhalation of smoke.
Rajesh Shukla said that he has seen massive fires during his service but the Anaj Mandi incident was one of the deadliest.
"I have handled close to 7,000 fire rescue calls and was a part of the rescue operation during the Hotel Arpit Palace Fire in Karol Bagh and the recent AIIMS hospital fire. This was one of the major fires in terms of the casualties," Rajesh Shukla said.
Rajesh Shukla, a resident of Teetri Toli of Namkum, is an Assistant Division Officer of Old Delhi in Delhi Fire Department. He has been serving in the fire department since 2004.
In his career, he has had a crucial hand in saving people at the time of the major earthquake in Gujarat and in many other accidents in Delhi.
It took over 150 firefighters nearly five hours to douse the blaze on Sunday morning. As many as 63 people were pulled out of the building. Two fire department personnel were hurt while carrying out the rescue work, officials said.