CHENNAI: Three of a family, including a nine-month-old girl, sustained burns after a fire broke out from an electric bike they had plugged for charging in front of their house in Maduravoyal early on Sunday. While the child and her father sustained around 40% burns, the mother sustained around 15 % burns. All three have been admitted to a government hospital for treatment.
According to the Maduravoyal police, Gowthaman (31) was an electric motor mechanic. He was living in Maduravoyal with his wife Manju (28) and nine-month-old daughter. The family had a 2018-model Indian electric bike which was used by Gowthaman to commute to work. On Saturday night, he had plugged the bike for charging in the portico of his house and locked the gate.
“Around 5.30 am on Sunday, Gowthaman woke up to the smell of smoke, and found the bike on fire. Some motors which he had brought home from his workshop and kept in the portico were also on fire,” a police source said.
“Since he would have to move through the fire to open the front gate, he took his child and tried climbing to the first floor of the house where his parents were staying. When he tried to cross the portico, both Gowthaman and his daughter suffered burns. The girl’s mother stayed inside the house on the ground floor and sustained around 15% burns,”the source added.
Police suspect that the battery in the vehicle might have caught fire because Gowthaman had plugged the bike for charging and left it overnight, which is against the recommended duration of only a few hours.