CHENNAI: A 52-year-old man was allegedly charred to death after an air conditioner blasted during the early hours of Thursday.
The deceased R K Suresh Kumar from Elangovadigal Street in Choolaimedu was working as a construction labourer in the city, the police said.
He lived with his son and daughter-in-law on the second floor of the house. He had rented out the ground and first floors.
On Wednesday night, Suresh Kumar's daughter-in-law Sujitha who was nine months pregnant, started experiencing labour pain, and was taken to a nearby private hospital. Suresh Kumar's son Stephen accompanied his wife to the hospital.
At the time, Suresh Kumar was sleeping alone in a room in the house. Suddenly, there was a blast in the air conditioning system which triggered a fire in the room. The fire quickly spread to the entire room and Suresh Kumar was charred to death, a senior police officer said.
The neighbours then called the fire service personnel and the police. Fire tenders from Nungambakkam, Choolaimedu and Chetpet reached the spot and doused the fire.
Choolaimedu police registered a case and sent his body to Kilpauk Medical College and Hospital.
Further investigation is on.