As Woman Gets Married, 5 Of Her Family Burn To Death In Jharkhand Apartment Fire: Cops

Swati had no idea that when she was taking her bridal vows, five members of her family lost their lives in the blaze that broke out at a highrise in Jharkhand's Dhanbad.

The bride lived with her family in a flat on the fourth floor of Ashirwad Tower in Joraphatak, where the fire broke out on Tuesday evening, killing 14 people.

Swati left home for the wedding venue -- Siddhi Vinayak Resort, around a kilometre away, at about 4 pm.

Her father Subodh Lal, her mother and other family members were still in the flat, getting ready for the wedding when the fire broke out on the second floor around 6.15 pm.

While her father could escape the blaze, Swati's mother along with her grandparents and two others were devoured by the inferno, a family member told PTI.

At the venue, the wedding rituals began even as Swati kept on asking about her mother and grandparents, he said.

"She was not told about the tragedy immediately. Her father was later taken to the venue, but as he was in a state of shock, he could not take part in the rituals. Some other family members completed the rituals," said Manoj Kumar Sahu, a friend of Lal.

"Only the ritual of 'Sindur Daan' was held. Other rituals, including 'Varmala', could not be performed," he said.

Mr Lal, 55, runs a wholesale cosmetic shop in Purana Bazar in Dhanbad town. Swati got married to Sourav, a resident of Giridih. He works at an IT company in Bengaluru.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)