Youth charred to death as air conditioner unit explodes

Measures should be taken for proper maintenance of power supply at households: EB official

A 27-year-old youth was charred to death as an air-conditioning machine exploded and fire engulfed his bedroom at Thiru. Vi. Ka. Nagar on Sunday.

The victim has been identified as P. Shyam, who supplied milk in the neighbourhood and also ran a shop in Manavalanagar. He married Dhanalakshmi six months ago and both stayed in the ground floor of the Thiru. Vi. Ka. Nagar house. Shyam’s father Prabakaran lived on the first floor of the house. At the time of the incident, Ms. Dhanalakshmi was at her parents’ house in Nungambakkam.

Late on Sunday, Shyam switched on the air-conditioning machine and was asleep in the bedroom. A huge thud from his bedroom woke Prabakaran, and he ran to the ground floor, which was filled with thick smoke. By the time the neighbours managed to break open the doors, they found that the things inside had been gutted in the fire which started from the air conditioner, police sources said. Shyam’s body was taken to the Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital for a post-mortem.

Last February, a two-year-old girl child was charred to death in a fire that erupted from an air conditioner due to a short-circuit while she was sleeping in Pozhichalur.

The victim, M. Prajeetha, was the only daughter of Mohan and Sangeetha, who are flower vendors in Yasodha Nagar, Gowl Bazaar, in Pozhichalur.  On a Thursday, after feeding her daughter, Ms. Sangeetha laid her to sleep in a bedroom where the air conditioner was on. Around 3 p.m., when she was at the front of the house, she found thick smoke coming from the room where the child was asleep and raised an alarm. However, the child was found charred to death.

Last June, an 84-year-old man was charred to death after a fire engulfed his room due to a short-circuit from the air-conditioning machine in an apartment in Nanganallur.

The victim, Balasubramanian, a retired High Court stenographer, was bed-ridden for a few years. He was staying with his wife Annapoorani, 77, at the apartment while their children were living abroad. They used to sleep in different rooms. At 5 a.m., the air conditioner in his room exploded and the resultant fire quickly spread in his room. Ms. Annapoorani, who noticed the smell of fire, raised an alarm and informed the neighbours but it was too late for her husband.