There were six persons living in the house, which included a family of three, apart from the victims, but they somehow managed to escape the blaze. The three victims remained trapped in an inner room, where they were sleeping. The Prajapati and Sadhu families from Vadodara said they were yet to receive information on how the fire started from the Australian Police.

Friends of the three deceased informed the stunned families of the incident. Sunil, brother of Deepak Kumar Prajapati, one of the students who died in the fire, said, “I received a call from one of Deepak’s friends at 11.30 pm on Wednesday night about the mishap. The news still has not sunk in, as there are several demanding formalities to be completed.” He added that Deepak’s wife of three years, Vanita was still studying in Australia and they were in constant touch with her. Vanita was a dependant on Deepak’s visa, Sunil said. According to him, Deepak worked in Vadodara for a few years before moving to Australia. “He always wanted to work abroad and we were all so happy when he got the accounting job in Melbourne,” said Sunil.

Deepak (32) met Jigneshkumar Ghanshyandas Sadhu (24), also from Vadodara, in Australia, while they were looking for a house. Deepak, a former B.Com student from M S University (MSU) was working with an accounting firm, while Jigneshkumar was pursuing his post graduation in Horticulture after graduating from a college in Navsari. “They were good friends and got along well with each other. Deepak has been there for three years and Jignesh for two,” said Jigneshkumar’s elder brother, Bharat Kumar Sadhu. Later, Sunil Ramanlal Patel, a resident of Raje Bungalows in Chandkheda, Ahmedabad, joined them.

A spokesman for India’s consul-general in Melbourne confirmed that Patel, Prajapati, and Sadhu, died when fire engulfed their weatherboard house in the western Melbourne district of Footscray. Fire brigade spokesman, Trevor Woodward, said no smoke detectors had been found in the house. The roof of the house was totally destroyed by the fire, while trees and shrubs in the front yard were burnt. “It has been legislated since the 1990s, but we’re still encountering places where people have either put the smoke alarm in and not maintained the batteries or just not bothered,” said Commander Frank Stockton.

Elsewhere, house owner, Phong Nguyen, said the three young men were not on the rental list and he did not know they had been living in his house. He said a family of three had rented his house for the last three years.

As if the tragedy was not enough, the families of the three students now have to comply with DNA testing as mandatory under Australian law before the body is handed over to the next of the kin. The Prajapati and Sadhu families have now visited the District Collector’s office to understand the paperwork. Bharat said, “The Fire Brigade personnel found the three bodies fused together when they finally managed to douse the blase. Now we need to finish some DNA testing formalities so the three bodies can be identified,” said Sunil.