Three persons, including a father-son duo, suffocated to death in a fire accident in Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor district in the early hours of Wednesday, September 21. The fire broke out in a two-storied house on Rangachari street in Chittoor, where 65-year-old Bhaskar Naidu was operating a paper plates manufacturing unit, at around 11.30 pm on Tuesday. Two fire tenders rushed to the spot and doused the flames. However, by the time they entered the house, Bhaskar, his son Dilli Babu (35), and their neighbour Balaji (25) were found in an unconscious state. They were shifted to a hospital but declared dead on arrival. 

Police suspect that a short circuit led to the incident. A case has been registered and further investigations are on, but the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. Chittoor II Town Circle Inspector (CI) Yatheendra told TNM that the three men were found in an unconscious state in the bathrooms, possibly having confined themselves there to stay away from the fire. “Their bodies didn’t have any injuries, so they seem to have died because of inhalation and suffocation. They were not burnt,” the CI said. 

According to the police, Bhaskar and his son Dilli Babu were running a small-scale industry of paper plates from their home. “They keep the machine, raw materials of paper bundles, stock, etc. inside the house, in the hall. They couldn’t leave the house as the machine was in the middle of the hall and they couldn’t go past it, and there was no back exit,” the CI said. He added that Balaji, a neighbour and family friend who visited Bhaskar often, was also at the house on Tuesday night. While Bhaskar runs the unit, Dilli Babu, a hotel management graduate, had returned home during the pandemic and had been assisting his father, police said. 

“The machine was usually operated only during the day. The fire started around 11.30 pm on Tuesday. The deceased called relatives and others nearby for help, saying there was a fire and they weren’t able to breathe. By the time help arrived, the fire had spread. Although two fire engines arrived, they couldn’t go in. It took almost an hour to douse the fire. By the time they could enter the house, the three of them were unconscious,” CI Yatheendra said.