Woman dies during bid to refuel generator of freezer box in Coimbatore
The petrol spilled over a lamp kept nearby leading to a fire. “Panicked over the turn of events, the youth lost grip of the can of petrol and the fire spread to the entire room,” police said.
The room where fire erupted as petrol spilled over a lamp
COIMBATORE: A 53-year-old woman was burnt alive and three others injured after petrol spilled over a lamp triggering fire at the funeral of an 83-year-old woman at a house in Coimbatore on Friday.
The body of B Ramalakshmi, who died of age-related illness on Thursday, was kept in a freezer box in the house at KRG Nagar in Ganapathy. Following a power cut, a relative youth bought petrol in a can and poured it into the generator to power the freezer box.
Unfortunately, the petrol spilled over a lamp kept nearby leading to a fire. “Panicked over the turn of events, the youth lost grip of the can of petrol and the fire spread to the entire room,” police said.
Eventually, the deceased woman’s son B Rajeswaran, (55), daughter Banumathi, (50), wife of Ramasubramanian from Tirupur, and daughter-in-law Padmavathi (53), wife of Murugasubramanian were caught unaware in the raging fire inside the room. On receiving information, the fire and rescue personnel rushed to the spot and tried to douse the fire.
The injured persons were rushed to Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH), where doctors declared Padmavathi to be dead already. Two others, Rajeswaran and Banumathi suffered severe burns, while the youth escaped with minor burns. The Saravanampatti police have registered a case and further inquiries are on.
