SAMBALPUR: A pall of gloom descended on Ranikhinda village under Dhankauda block in the district where three children, including two siblings, were burnt alive after a house caught fire due to leakage in an LPG cylinder on Wednesday night.
The fire engulfed the three-room rented a house of Narottam Jagat charring his two kids, son Thakurram Jagat (11) and daughter Bijayani Jagat (13), to death. Daughter of Narottam’s relative, identified as Kirti Chand (17) of Itabhata in Brajrajnagar of Jharsuguda district, a visitor to the house, also perished in the mishap.
House owner Subhransubala Mishra said the incident occurred at around 9 pm on Wednesday. The house caught fire due to the leakage in the LPG cylinder. The fire engulfed the room. Though Narottam and his wife Lilima tried to rescue the children, they failed to enter the room due to the raging fire. The children got trapped inside the house and were charred to death.
Later, the fire brigade personnel retrieved the bodies from the house. Surya Chand, the father of deceased Kirti, said his daughter Rebati had come to Sambalpur to appear for an interview for a private job and Kirti had accompanied her. Instead of returning, they stayed back in their aunt’s house on Wednesday. His daughters were playing carrom along with the two kids while Lilima was preparing dinner. However, Rebati had gone out of the house a few minutes before the incident and had a providential escape, he added.
Collector Samarth Verma said `20,000 has already been sanctioned for each of the victims from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF). This apart, ex gratia of `four lakh per victim will be paid to the families of the deceased as per Odisha Relief Code, he added.
Two sisters die of asphyxia
Angul: Two members of a family died of asphyxia at Bantala Bazaar here on Thursday night. The deceased are Bimala Gahan (46) and her sister Ujjaa Gahan (44). Police said the two were sleeping in their house when the fire broke out in another room. They were suffocated due to smoke and their bodies were recovered on Friday morning. Receiving information, police rushed to the spot. An unnatural death case has been registered.