Chennai: In a tragic incident near Guduvanchery, three members of the same family, including a two-year-old child, were charred to death in a house fire in Kannivakkam in the wee hours of Tuesday.
The deceased have been identified as Parthiban (36), a construction worker from Pandur near Guduvanchery, his wife Chitra (25), and their two-year-old daughter Jayasree.
According to police, Parthiban had visited his sister Maheswari’s house in Kannivakkam on Monday night along with his wife and child after learning that Maheswari’s child was unwell. Later in the night, as the child’s fever worsened, Maheswari and her husband Ramnath took the child to Chengalpattu Government Hospital for treatment.
Parthiban, instead of returning home, stayed at his sister’s house along with his wife and daughter, and the family went to sleep.
Around 4.30 am, when Maheswari returned home from the hospital with her husband and child, they noticed thick smoke coming out of the house, and the building was engulfed in flames. In panic, they attempted to unlock the door and enter the house, but were forced to come out immediately due to heavy smoke and suffocation.
Soon, the Maraimalai Nagar Fire and Rescue Services and the Guduvanchery police were alerted. The firefighters rushed to the spot and battled the blaze, clearing the smoke and bringing the fire under control.
During the search inside the house, the bodies of Parthiban, Chitra and their daughter Jayasree were found charred.
Guduvanchery police recovered the bodies and sent them to Chengalpattu Government Hospital for post-mortem examination.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the fire may have been caused by a mosquito coil that had been lit near clothes before the family went to sleep, which later spread and engulfed the house.
Police have registered a case, and further inquiry is on.