Two persons were charred to death and 12 houses, including four shops were gutted in a blaze that occurred in a village near Tiruthuraipoondi in the district on Tuesday.
Police said the fire started in the house of one Veerasekaran in the main road (East Coast Road) of Kallikudi village near Tiruthuraipoondi, around noon on Tuesday. As there was strong winds, fire engulfed the houses nearby and around 12 houses and four shops located on the main road, Gangaiyanthidal Street and West Street of Kallikudi village.
Eight thatched houses, three tiled houses and four shops with thatched roofs were gutted. The occupants of the houses tried their best to salvage their articles.
As Rajammal (65), staying on the main road was salvaging some materials from her house, a burning log fell on her. Even as she was struggling, S Muthumanickam (40) of Thillaivilagam village, a relative who was visiting Rajammal, who tried to save her, was also trapped in the inferno. Both of them were charred to death.
Fire tenders from Tiruthuraipoondi, Thalaignayiru, Kottur, Muthupettai were rushed to the spot and the fire fighting and rescue personnel led by Ramamurthy, District Fire Officer, fought the fire for over three hours. As the incident happened on the East Coast Road, traffic was not allowed ply through the stretch for over three hours.
Immediate relief was disbursed to the affected persons. Those who lost their houses were accommodated in a school in the village.
Tiruthuraipoondi police registered a case and are investigating. Preliminary inquiries indicate the accident might have happened due to a short circuit.
S Natarajan, Collector, A K S Vijayan, MP, K Ulaganathan, Tiruthuraipoondi MLA, Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar, Superintendent of Police, visited the spot.