VILLUPURAM: IN a tragic accident, three members of a family were charred to death in a fire that allegedly broke out in the air conditioner unit. The deceased, welding shop owner K Raju (60) lived with his wife Kalaiselvi (52) and two sons, Kovarthanan (30) and Gowtham (27), in Kaveripakkam village in Tindivanam.
At 3 am on Wednesday, the AC unit fixed in the room where Raju, his wife and Gowtham were sleeping exploded. Hearing the noise, Kovarthanan, who was sleeping in another room with his wife, rushed to help along with a few neighbours. However, the room was locked from inside and they could not save anyone.
Personnel from the Tindivanam fire station rushed to the spot, put out the fire, and broke into the room, but all three had died by then. Their bodies have been sent to the government hospital for autopsy. Police claimed the family had bought the AC five years back, but had not serviced it even once.
“The unit may not have been able to handle the power fluctuations due to lack of maintenance,” said a police officer. “Only the indoor unit had caught fire, the outdoor unit of the AC was still working when we got there,” said a fire personnel. “The family might have been sleeping as the fire spread, or they may have fainted due to the smoke.” Gowtham, one of the deceased, was to get married on June 6.