He came from Iraq to Delhi for his son’s surgery. Now he waits outside a mortuary

3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jun 4, 2026 06:46 PM IST

Standing outside the mortuary of AIIMS Trauma Centre, 40-year-old Habib Abid sobs as he speaks to a relative in Iraq over the phone.

He is waiting for the body of his brother-in-law, Ali Amer Mosa, who was among the 21 killed in a  fire at Flourish Stays B&B in Hauz Rani area of South Delhi on Wednesday.

Last week, Abid had come to Delhi from Iraq with his 18-year-old son Haider. His son has been suffering from a brain tumour and the family managed to get an appointment for him at Max Hospital in Saket. Ali (29) accompanied them.

“We booked a room on the fifth floor of the hotel after admitting my son.” Habib told The Indian Express.

On Wednesday morning, he said he woke up to shouts and screams of people in the hotel. By the time he realised a fire had broken out, he said the flames had spread to the second floor.

“Some people, who were outside, broke the window to the room and placed a ladder… I got down using it, but Ali ran from the smoke-filled room, down the stairs,” said Habib.

“My son is still in surgery at Max,” he said, breaking down again.

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Of those killed, 12 were foreign nationals from Bangladesh and Liberia, Nigeria, and Mozambique in Africa. They were in Delhi either for medical treatment or accompanying family members undergoing treatment.

At the AIIMS mortuary, Maria, a Liberian woman in her 20s, steps out of an auto-rickshaw. About a week ago, she said she got a call from her aunt, Janjay Roland, 61, that she was coming to Delhi for her husband’s treatment.

Maria, from Liberia, lost her aunt in the fire. (Express Photo by Shreya Singhai)

“I was so happy,” Maria said. “I had left Liberia two years ago to pursue my graduation in India. I hadn’t seen anyone from my country in over two years… I was going to meet my aunt this weekend.”

Her aunt was among the victims.

At the mortuary, she holds up a picture of Janjay’s ID, asking where her body was. “She arrived last week and got her husband admitted to Max. I still haven’t met him. I don’t know whether he knows…,” she added.