CHENNAI: Three members of a family died on Tuesday, a week after a fire broke out in their Nungambakkam house due to a suspected LPG gas leak.
The deceased have been identified as Veerakumar, 62, of Vaikundapuram in Nungambakkam, his wife Lakshmi, 57, and their son-in-law Gunasekaran. Veerakumar was a labourer while Lakshmi was working as a maid.
The accident happened on Feb 5 after Lakshmi replaced an empty cylinder with a new one. Police suspect that gas leaked from the new cylinder. Later, while Lakshmi lit a lamp in a puja room, fire erupted due to the gas leak. The fire engulfed the room, and Lakshmi caught fire. Her husband rushed to her aid. The fire spread to him. Their son-in-law, who heard their cries for help, rushed to assist them. But he too caught fire.
All three suffered 70% burns burn injuries. They were rushed to Kilpauk Govt Medical Hospital where they succumbed to their injuries on Tuesday.
Veerakumar’s mother, Kunjamal, who was sleeping in another room at the time of the fire, recounted the horror of the incident. “When I rushed in, I saw all of them trapped in fire. I stood helpless and called neighbours,” she said.
Kunjamal’s relative, Saraswathi, added that the gas company staff had warned them not to place objects on top of the gas cylinder and to keep flammable materials such as plastic and paper away from it. She said the technician had advised them to seek help while replacing the cylinder to ensure that it was safely connected, as the victims were not familiar with the process.
The Nungambakkam police registered a case and were investigating.