CHENNAI: A 48-year-old woman with an amputated leg was charred to death, while her husband and son have been hospitalised with burn injuries after a fire broke out at their ground-floor residence in an apartment complex in Korattur early on Sunday, allegedly due to a faulty refrigerator.
The police said the family residing in Vivekananda Nagar had suffered mild electric shocks upon touching the fridge placed in their bedroom days before the fire, but had not got it checked, leading to its explosion around 3 am on Sunday.
Akila, whose right leg was amputated because of a tumour about five years ago, was unable to escape following the fire and was found dead inside the room while her husband Ramani (55) sustained 55% burns in the incident. Their son Karthick (23) sustained burns on both the hands, a police official told TNIE.
Hearing their cries, neighbours alerted the authorities. “After the fire broke out, Ramani and Karthick tried to bring Akila out of the house as she could not immediately get out of the bed. But by then the fire grew and they had to get themselves out,” the police official added.
On information, the Korattur police admitted Ramani and Karthick to the Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital, while Akila’s body was sent for post-mortem. They also registered a case.
Meanwhile, fire and rescue services personnel who arrived in two vehicles battled the flames for nearly an hour before bringing the situation under control.
Preliminary inquiries suggest that the refrigerator was in a faulty condition and had electrical leakage. Ramani’s condition is critical and he remains under observation, the police said.