65-year-old man burnt alive in fire mishap in Andhra
VIJAYAWADA: A bedridden elderly man was burnt alive in a fire accident that also reduced 13 thatched houses to ashes on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday in Kammanamolu village of Nagayalanka mandal.
Delay in fire tenders reaching the location was said to be the reason for the flames engulfing the nearby huts. Locals reported that the fire broke out around 1.30 am in a hut due to short circuit. This led to blasting of five LPG cylinders as the fire spread to neighbouring huts.
Despite the fire department being informed of the incident almost immediately, it was almost an hour later that a fire tender reached the spot, locals alleged. There was no such vehicle available at the nearest fire station in Avanigadda, 15.3 km from the village. As such, the information had to be passed on to the station in Movva, 43 km from Kammanamolu.
However, by the time the fire truck from Movva reached the affected area, nine huts were already gutted.
The victim of the mishap, L Gopala Swamy, was sleeping at the time and could not make it out of his house, Nagayalanka police said. He is survived by his wife and two kids. His son, who is differently-abled, tried to rescue him but his attempt went in vain as the fire intensified due to strong winds.
The property loss is expected to be around Rs 20 lakh, the locals claimed. Revenue, police and electricity department officials reached the village on Thursday and were ascertaining the cause of the fire. The affected appealed to the government to extend all necessary support to them.
Late arrival of fire tenders aggravated incident
Despite the fire department being informed of the incident almost immediately, it was almost an hour later that a fire truck reached the spot, according to the locals. There was no fire tender available at the nearest fire station in Avanigadda, 15.3 km from the village.