AHMEDABAD: In a tragic incident that unfolded early on Tuesday morning in Mundra Town, Kutch, a devastating fire triggered by a suspected air conditioner explosion claimed the lives of two people and left one person critically injured. The incident occurred around 5 AM in the Suryanagar society, where emergency services responded to distress calls reporting a major fire outbreak.
Ravi Kumar Rameshwar Rai, 41, and his two-year-old daughter Jahnvi lost their lives in the catastrophic blaze that engulfed their first-floor residence. Rai's wife, Kavita, in her mid-30s, sustained severe burns covering approximately 70% of her body and was immediately rushed to a private hospital in Mundra, where she remains in critical condition.
Local fire officials, who promptly arrived at the scene, suspect that the fire originated from an exploding air conditioner compressor. The intensity of the blast and subsequent fire was so severe that it reportedly left the family with little to no time to escape or call for help. Eyewitnesses in the neighbourhood confirmed hearing a loud explosion before noticing the flames.
Upon successfully extinguishing the fire, emergency responders made the grim discovery of two charred bodies inside the residence. The Mundra police have initiated an investigation into the incident, currently treating it as an accidental fire. Fire safety experts are conducting a detailed examination of the premises to definitively establish the cause of the explosion and subsequent fire, while also evaluating whether any safety protocols were compromised.