8yearold among 5 of family killed in Mandi house blaze
CELEBRATIONS TO MOURNING The family had returned from a wedding function in the adjoining house the same night; short circuit said to be cause of fire
MANDI: Five persons of a family died in a house fire at Ner Chowk area of Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh on Monday morning. Three persons were charred to death on the spot while two others died during treatment at Mandi zonal hospital. The house belonged to Narender Kumar Soni, 66, who is among the deceased, other being his wife Beena Soni, 62; sister Sudesh Sohel, 70; Sudesh’s daughterin-law Mona Sohel, 48 and Mona’s son Sai Sohel, 8.
: Five persons of a family died in a house fire at Ner Chowk area of Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh on Monday morning.
Three persons were charred to death on the spot while two others died during treatment for burns at zonal hospital in Mandi town, 12 kilometers from Ner Chowk.
The house belonged to Narender Kumar Soni, 66, who is among the deceased, other being his wife Beena Soni, 62; his sister Sudesh Sohel, 70; Sudesh’s daughter-inlaw Mona Sohel, 48 and Mona’s son Sai Sohel, 8.
The family had returned late from a wedding function of Narender’s nephew (younger brother’s son) in the adjoining house the previous night. Neighbours said that the wedding reception was scheduled to vbe held at Narender’s house on Monday.
The fire broke out at 4 am. Although the exact cause is yet to be ascertained, a shot circuit in the air conditioner is said to be the cause of fire, which spread rapidly while the family was asleep.
Prima facie, it appeared that the fire triggered a blast in the LPG cylinder and the family did not get a chance to escape.
All five members of the family were stuck in the upper storey of the house when fire tenders reached the spot.
The locals assisted the fire fighters in rescue operation, but it took a lot of time to douse the flames that had engulfed the house. Panic coupled with a pall of gloom spread in Ner Chowk following the incident.
Meanwhile, Mandi deputy commissioner (DC) Rigved Thakur reached the spot along with local legislature Inder Singh.
The DC said that he has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident as locals blamed the fire tenders of arriving late on the spot and handling the incident in an unprofessional manner.
Also, chief minister (CM) Jai Ram Thakur, who was on a day’s visit to Seraj assembly constituency of Mandi district on Monday, paid his condolences to the aggrieved family and assured of every possible help.
Thakur expressed grief over the deaths. He said it was a tragic incident and the state government would provide all possible assistance to the victims’ kin.
MLAs Vinod Kumar, Col Inder Singh Gandhi, Rakesh Jamwal and Inder Gandhi also accompanied the CM.