Woman, 3 of her children die in Darukhana area of Sewri shanty blaze

Four members of a family died after a fire broke out at a slum in Darukhana area of Sewri on Sunday morning. Fire department officials suspect the blaze was caused by a kerosene lamp, which had toppled over apparently due to rodents.

Anita Batra, 31, her daughter Poojashri, 5, and son Pradeep, 1, were declared dead on admission at state-run JJ Hospital. Laxmi Batra, 7, who received 100 per cent burn injuries, succumbed to her injuries after a few hours.

Vikas Batra, Anita’s husband, was not at their home at Powder Bunder at the time of the fire.

Vikas, a taxi driver, was out on duty and returned only around 9 am.

Neighbours said the fire broke out around 4 am, but they learnt about it after about 15-20 minutes as the room adjacent to that of the Batras is empty. “We managed to douse the fire before the fire brigade arrived, but it was too late,” said local resident Shahib Ali.

The fire brigade received a call at 4.42 am. They rushed four fire engines and a water tanker to the scene and brought the blaze under control in 20 minutes. “Since the shanty is in a narrow lane, we could not take the fire engines to the spot. Had the fire spread to other shanties, it would have caused huge damage as the settlement is congested,” said a fire official. Firefighters then decided to approach the accident spot on foot.

The Sewri police have registered an accidental death report in the incident. “Our investigation has revealed that the fire was caused due to kerosene that had flown out of a lamp, which was used to light up the hut. The lamp might have fallen on the ground because of rats,” said Sunil Babar, assistant commissioner of police.

“While three victims were brought dead with hundred percent burns, the fourth victim succumbed to her injuries four hours later at 11 am. All the bodies have been transferred to KEM Hospital for post-mortem,” said Dr TP Lahane, dean of JJ hospital.