Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan’s youngest son, Mark Shankar (7), sustained injuries in a fire incident at a summer camp in Singapore. Mark, who studies at a school in the island nation, suffered burns on his hands and legs, and also experienced respiratory distress after inhaling thick smoke.
He is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital in Singapore and has been administered a bronchoscopy procedure to clear his airways.
The incident occurred at a three-storey shophouse on River Valley Road, near Singapore’s central business district, where around 30 children were participating in various workshops including cooking, theatre, and robotics. Singapore home affairs minister, K Shanmugam, confirmed that a 10-year-old girl lost her life in the incident, while around 20 people, including 15 children, were rushed to nearby hospitals.
Dramatic footage on social media showed black smoke billowing from the building, with children stranded on the third-floor ledge. Nearby construction workers bravely climbed the scaffolding to help rescue the trapped students even before firefighters arrived on the scene.
Firefighting teams deployed rescue ladders and hydraulic platforms to evacuate the remaining people and extinguish flames raging on the second and third floors. Police and emergency responders evacuated nearly 80 people from the affected building and surrounding premises.
At the time of the incident, Pawan Kalyan was on an outreach tour in the tribal villages of Alluri Sitarama Raju district. Though urged by officials and party members to immediately fly to Singapore, he chose to complete his visit to Kuridi village near Araku, honouring a prior commitment.
Later, addressing reporters in Hyderabad, the Jana Sena chief said his son’s health is now stable, adding that he struggled to breathe for sometime after inhaling smoke. He also shared that the incident coincided with the birthday of his elder son, Akira Nandan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally reached out to Pawan to express his concern and assured him of all support. The PM said he would speak to the Indian high commissioner in Singapore to ensure that Mark receives the best medical care.
Pawan also expressed his thanks to AP chief minister, N Chandrababu Naidu, IT minister, Nara Lokesh, former chief minister, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, Telangana CM, Revanth Reddy, and KT Rama Rao of BRS for their messages of support.
Pawan is expected to fly to Singapore on Tuesday night to be with his son.