The lifeless bodies of a man and his wife and son were recovered at their home at 104-18 125th Street in Ozone Park, New York (NY) on Friday after a massive fire had broken out and spread through several homes in Queens, reportedly just after 14:00h.
Initial reports coming out of NY had stated that two persons were killed as a result of the fire. However, the body of a third victim has been recovered from the scene of the five-alarm fire on Saturday.
Nanda Balo (husband), Balo Persaud (wife) and Devon Persaud (son) who died in the fire
The victims have been identified as Nanda Balo Persaud, 59; Balo Persaud, who had been employed at the Kennedy Airport, NY; and their 22-year-old son, Devon Persaud.
According to the New York Post, the fire ravaged the three-storey house that neighbours said had had four apartments; located in the attic, second floor, first floor, and basement, where the Persaud family had lived.
Two other houses were destroyed, and five more were damaged by the inferno. High winds had helped to spread the flames. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, according to the FDNY.
Adam Santra, 15, who had lived in the house next door to where the victims perished, has said he wasn’t home at the time, and his sister called him on FaceTime and showed him the blaze.
“All you could see is our house engulfed in flames,” he is quoted by the New York Post as saying. “Everybody is okay. We’re staying with family members at the moment.”
Valmacky Chattergoon, who lives on a nearby block, has said he saw firefighters struggling to extinguish the blaze. “They’re yelling, ‘We can’t do it! We can’t go inside! The fire is still high!’ They were trying to go inside, and they saw the roof collapse, and the chief said, ‘Pull back! Pull back!’” Chattergoon has said.
