TIRUPATI: A doctor and his two minor children died of asphyxiation and burn injuries after a fire broke out at the private clinic-cum-residence of the doctor at Vasundhara Nagar in Renigunta during the wee hours of Sunday.
The three deceased were identified as Dr Ravishankar Reddy, and his two kids Siddhu (12), and Karthika (6).
According to information reaching here, the fire broke out at the Karthik private clinic run by Dr Ravishankar Reddy, a radiologist, on the ground floor of his three-storied residential building, around 4 am on Sunday.
An electric short circuit in the kitchen and subsequent cooking gas cylinder leak there bolstered the fire that spread quickly and engulfed the entire first floor adorned with wooden furniture, police said, as quoted by PTI.
The two children, panicked after thick smoke emanated from the ground floor and bolted themselves in a bathroom resulting in their suffocation, police officials told PTI.
“Five members, Ravishankar Reddy, his wife Ananta Lakshmi, mother Rama Subbamma, and the two children - Siddhu and Karthika - were there inside the building when the fire suspected to be caused by an electric short circuit broke,” a fire department official said.
Upon learning about the incident, the Renigunta police along with fire personnel reached the spot and rescued Ananta Lakshmi, Rama Subbamma, and the two children out of the building.
The children --- Siddhu and Karthika --- died undergoing treatment at the Ruia hospital.
Dr Ravishankar Reddy died on the spot suffering 90 per cent burn injuries on his body.
(With PTI inputs)