Tragedy struck as an elderly woman was charred to death and two others including a four-year-old child were seriously burnt as a fire broke out in a slum along the Kadma-Sonari marine drive under Kadma police station area on Thursday afternoon.
The victim who died in the fire was identified as Amla lohar (60). Those who are seriously burnt were identified as Mangal lohar (4) and lalita lohar (25). Both the two burnt victims were rushed to the Tata Main Hospital's burn care unit.
According to information, three goats were also burnt and as many lPG cylinders, which caused the fire to spread rapidly across the slum - Bag-e- Bustee.
About 40 houses were gutted in the fire which broke out at around 3 pm. As the news spread fire tenders from Tata Steel and Golmuri-based Jharkhand fire station rushed to the spot, but the fire was so vast that it engulfed one after another house in few minutes. Five fire-tenders were pressed into service to control the fire.
OC, Kadma police station , Binod Paswan said that a woman quarrelled with her husband earlier in the day, and out of rage she set herself on fire after pouring in kerosene oil. As she was on flame, she entered into her tiled house, causing the other articles at home also to catch fire," said Paswan. The woman was 25-year-old woman lalita lohar.
Paswan said as the fire spread in lalita's house, it caught an lPG cylinder kept in the room where the woman entered. "As per our investigation as the lPG cylinder went off, more houses were engulfed and two more lPG cylinders caught fire," said the officer-in-charge.