Father-Daughter Duo Die Of Suffocation As e-Bike Catches Fire

Vellore (Tamil Nadu) , March 26: In a tragic incident , a 49-year-old man and his minor daughter died of suffocation, after the battery of an electric bike exploded and caught fire while charging in front of his house at Chinna Allapuram locality here early on Saturday. Police said the deceased were identified as M.Duraivarma, who is running a photo studio and his daughter D.Mohana Preethi (13), a Class 8 student. Duraivarma recently purchased an e-bike and he used to park in front of his house.

He plugged the charger of his e-bike to an electric socket at the entrance of his house on Friday night and went to sleep along with his daughter. The battery of the e-bike reportedly caught fire due to electrical short-circuit. Due to the fire, thick smoke engulfed the house. A petrol bike that was parked adjacent to the e-bike also caught fire and was destroyed. On being alerted by the neighbours, the personnel of Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services Department rushed to the spot along with the police and broke open the door to find both Duraivarma and Preethi dead in the room. The bodies were sent to Government Medical College Hospital at Adukkamparai for post-mortem. Bagayam police have registered a case and are investigating. UNI