CHENNAI: In a tragic accident, an elderly couple were charred to death after a fire broke out at their house at Choudry Nagar in Valasaravakkam on Sunday afternoon. The couple’s grandson and their domestic worker who were in the house with them managed to escape through a window after the fire spread inside the house.
While the boy escaped with minor injuries, the domestic worker fractured her leg, the police said. The Valasaravakkam police have registered a case and a probe is on to ascertain the cause of the fire.
According to the police, Natraj (74) was a retired lawyer who lived with his wife N Thangam (70) in their two-storeyed bungalow with their son N Sriram (50) and his family. Sriram, a chartered accountant, shared the house with his wife, daughter and son (S Shravan), who completed his Class XII this year. Natraj’s other son lives abroad, the police said.
“On Sunday afternoon, Sriram, his wife and daughter had gone out, while Shravan stayed back with his grandparents. Around 12:30 pm, a fire broke out in one of the rooms on the ground floor, which we suspect to be the pooja room. The fire then quickly spread to other rooms,” a police source said.
Shravan, whose bedroom on the first floor overlooks the road, jumped from the balcony and escaped to safety with minor bruises, the police said. The family’s domestic staff, Devi (37), who was on the second floor of the house, jumped to the ground from the terrace and escaped with fractured legs. Since the fire quickly engulfed almost the entire house, the elderly couple could not get out, police said.
“The fire and rescue department, along with the police, were alerted. Four tender vehicles were deployed and the fire was put out after a struggle of more than two hours. By the time the fire department personnel could go inside the house, the couple were charred to death,” a fire and rescue department source said.
The bodies were recovered and sent to Government Kilpauk Medical College and Hospital for postmortem. A case has been registered and an inquiry is underway.
A police officer said that the exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained and the value of the property lost is yet to be assessed.