Mother and daughter die after home generator explodes; son in critical condition
Tragedy struck a family in Keppetipola, Welimada, after the home generator that was on during a power cut caught fire and exploded leaving two dead and a third in a critical condition.
Wasnatha Hemamali, 38, an employee of the Keppetipola Pradeshiya Sabha Sub office and her nine- year- old daughter Kawisha Hasini Ratnayake succumbed to their injuries while the five-year-old son is battling for his life at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children in Colombo.
The householder, Madhura Priyantha, a businessman at the Keppetipola economic centre had been away at the time of the fire.
Police said according to evidence gathered, on March 29 the generator had been on during a power cut. But since the generator had stopped working the mother had entered the room where the generator was, using the torch on her mobile phone. The two children had also accompanied her. But when her phone fell and broke she had lit a candle. At this juncture a fire had broken out and the generator exploded with a huge sound. The neighbours on hearing the sound had rushed to the house and taken the three of them to Welimada hospital.
They were later transferred to the Badulla hospital and from there the children had been transferred to the Lady Ridgeway Hospital.
Fifteen days after the accident, the father received a call informing him that his daughter had passed away and in a double tragedy when he was making arrangements for her funeral he received the news that his wife too had passed away.
Secretary of the Welimada Pradeshiya Sabha, told the Sunday Times when staff members had initially visited Hemamali in hospital she had told them how the fire had broken out as she entered the room with the candle in her hand. She had said she tried to save her children as the fire engulfed all three of them.
We l i m a d a Chief Inspector H.M.W. Herath said investigations revealed that the generator was in a closed room to minimise the sound and old books and paddy were also stored in the room. He said there was also a petrol can which appeared to have not been shut properly.
“There is a strong possibility that the petrol evaporated and was in the air when she entered the room igniting the fire and the explosion of the generator which also contained fuel," he said.
He said it was advisable to always keep the generator in an open area while in use as it generates heat. He said people should also be careful when storing fuel.
The funerals of both mother and daughter took place last Sunday..