Naveena Khanam, 40, mother of a six-year-old girl, is still in a state of shock after she escaped serious injuries along with her family when their washing machine exploded.
Naveena Khanam, 40, mother of a six-year-old girl, is still in a state of shock after she escaped serious injuries along with her family when their washing machine exploded on Thursday.
The blast, which took place around 11.30am, triggered a fire in the family’s cement-sheeted roof house on the terrace of a two-storey building in LV Colony on Bombay Dyeing Road, Yeshwantapur.
Before fire engines arrived, alert neighbours poured water and mud from elevated positions using buckets to douse the fire.
Naveena was busy in the morning with household chores. After loading the washing machine with clothes, she turned on the main switch. But the machine did not roll. Instead, she saw fire. Alarmed, she alerted her husband Mohammed Ghouse, 48, and mother Mumtaz Khanam, 68. Her daughter Naseema Khanam was playing outside the building.
As they ran to the first floor, the washing machine exploded showering the cement-sheeted roof with its flying parts. The impact was such that cement sheets were blown off and its debris fell on the road 100 meters from the house. The building wall also cracked.
During their mad rush down the stairs, Naseema sustained injuries on her hand, Ghouse had head and hand injuries and Mumtaz sustained injuries on her legs and hands.
Naseema, who was playing in the open, was hurt when
a piece of cement sheet hit her.
They were treated in the out patient department (OPD) of a nearby private hospital. “We were standing on the road when we heard the loud boom. Then we saw parts of the cement roof coming down the sky and falling all over the road. We immediately informed the fire and police departments,” said Avinash, a witness.
“Initially, we thought it was a gas cylinder blast,” said Raghu, another witness.
The fire destroyed a fridge, clothes, utensils, blankets and beds.
Rare accident
L Srinivas, attached to Yeshwantpur police station, said the accident is rare while trying to explain what could have caused the blast. He said a faulty start capacitor in the machine might have sparked the fire.
“Because of this, the machine did not roll and it got overheated. In such cases, a sound may come or it may lead to short-circuit. The motor may get burnt. What one must do in such a situation is to immediately turn off the switch,” he said.
A faulty capacitor could be easily repaired, he added.
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