16:39 (ist)

Security guard forcefully kept people inside small bathroom, says Prateek Thakur, an eyewitness

Prateek Thakur, 28, one of the survivors gives a detailed account of the incident. Thakur, who managed to escape on his own, sustained burns in his right hand while helping out others escape.

"People were drunk. They were not in their senses and didn't realise that it will catch fire so soon. I started shouting. It was then that the public started running. They didn't realise that there was a barricade. They were drunk and were not even able to think that they should jump. They just stopped. There was nothing called a fire exit.

I think there are 99% chances that the fire was caused by the hookah. There were at least 150 people. There were eight of us who were there. There is a washroom on the left of the gate. So, those people who couldn't get out they were hiding inside the bathroom. My brother-in-law Lokesh was also there.

The security guard had forcefully kept them inside the bathroom, and didn't allow them to come out. He seemed afraid that the fire will get inside the bathroom too. It was then that the DJ at the restaurant, a Sardar, yelled at the security guard. The moment the guard opened the door, the DJ ran and after him my wife's brother Lokesh also ran. If he had stayed inside little longer he may have been dead."