Saviour teenager battles for life

Meerut, Apr 12 (UNI) A courageous teenager, who rescued numerous children from the inferno at the Victoria Park here, is battling for his life at a local hospital.

Kishore Javed, admitted at the Jaiswal Rai Hospital with 70 per cent burns, was working as a helper in one of the stalls at the electronic fair here.

Javed's friend Arif Chowdhary, said, "when the fire erupted, five of us came out safely. However, seeing several children engulfed by the fire, Javed went into one of the pandals to save them." He managed to pull out six to seven children, but got trapped while continuing his rescue efforts. He was later found unconscious, he added.

Hospital sources described Javed's condition as "critical". He had suffered 70 per cent burns.

His mother, sitting outside the ICU, said, "It was the financial constraints of the family that forced Javed to take up a job in a private company." This firm had put up a stall at the fair.

"I wasn't very particular that Javed should work. A lot of people came to see my son and they have praised his efforts and promised all help for the treatment," Javed's father said..

However, no help has come from the company he worked for, he added.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who along with Minister of State For Home Sri Prakash Jaiswal, also visited Javed at the ICU and praised his heroic deed.

Amid conflicting reports, official sources said as many as 60 people, including women and children, were killed and 119 injured in the fire that swept through the crowded Brand India Consumer Show on Monday.

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