COIMBATORE: Three roommates were charred to death and four others sustained severe burn injuries in a fire that broke out inside a house at Muthugoundenpudur near Sulur at 11.30 pm on Monday.
According to police, the fire broke out when an inmate tried to pour petrol from a container into a can next to a gas stove that was in use.
Seven men from Andipatti in Theni P Alagar Raja (24), T Muthukumar (23), I Karuppasamy alias Chinnakaruppu (26), M Dinesh Kumar (23), S Manoj (24) and R Pandeeshwaran (27), all from Kadamalaikundu, and P Veeramani (21) of Lakshmipuram were residing in the single-room house on a rental basis, police said.
Alagar Raja, Muthukumar and Dinesh Kumar worked as lorry drivers for a petrol depot located in Irugur, while Veeramani was a lorry cleaner. The other three were daily-wage labourers, police said.
The three drivers transported fuel from the depot to petrol stations in Coimbatore and Tiruppur.
Fire engulfed home, trapped 7
They used to carry home leftover fuel. About 10 litres of fuel had been kept inside the house, police said. On Monday, in an accident, Alagar Raja had mowed down a school teacher with his lorry at Ravathur Pirivu on Tiruchy Road. He was detained and released on station bail the same night. Perturbed by the incident, Raja consumed alcohol when another housemate was making dinner.
Police said, when Raja opened the petrol container near the stove and poured some into a smaller can, the stove flame ignited the container. Fire engulfed the house, trapping all the seven men. Alagar Raja, Karuppasamy, and Muthukumar died in the fire. The other four sustained severe burn injuries and are currently under treatment.
Container placed near stove
Police said, when Raja opened the 20-litre petrol container placed near the gas stove and poured some into a smaller can to fuel his two-wheeler, the gas stove flame caused the container to ignite. The fire quickly engulfed the house, trapping all seven men.