(New York Post) The body of a third victim was recovered Saturday from the scene of a five-alarm fire in Queens that had already claimed two lives, authorities said.
The blaze at 104-19 125th Street in Ozone Park Friday killed a husband and wife in their 50s, and the body found in the remains of the destroyed home Saturday was their son, according to neighbors and relatives.
One of the victims, Nanda Balo Persaud, 59, retired from a medical company that made pills, according to his sister, Mohani Persaud.
“He was my brother. What can I really say? He was a good person. I am really sad,” she said.
His wife, Bono Salima Persaud, worked at Kennedy Airport and their son, Devon Persaud, was in his early 20s, family and neighbors said.
The couple also had another son, who was at the fire scene Saturday but declined to comment.
The fire, which began about 2 p.m., ravaged the three-story house that neighbors said had four apartments, located in the attic, second floor, first floor and basement, where the Persaud family lived.
Two other houses were destroyed and five more were damaged by the inferno. High winds help spread the flames.
The cause is still under investigation, according to the FDNY.
Adam Santra, 15, who lives in the house next door to where the victims perished, 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 said. “Everybody is OK. We’re staying with family members at the moment.”
Valmacky Chattergoon who lives on a nearby block 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 said.
