Three of a family at Urapakkam in Chengalpattu district reportedly died after inhaling toxic gas that reportedly emanated from the refrigerator, which exploded in their apartment on Friday, Collector Rahul Nadh said.
Two others –a woman and her six-year-old daughter–have been hospitalised and kept under observation, the Collector said after inspecting the house on the first floor near the Urapakkam railway station, where the explosion occurred. The family member inhaled the fumes which spread across the room in which they were sleeping.
"The house was kept locked for about a year and the fridge was not in use for a long time. An inquiry into whether a short circuit caused the explosion is on," Nadh said. He urged members of the public to get electrical appliances like refrigerators and air-conditioners checked if they were not used for a long time.
The police say that the husband of one of the deceased, Girija, passed away last year and the family moved to Dubai after that. The apartment they had lived in, which is on the first floor in Kilambakkam, had been locked up and remained vacant, according to The Hindu.
The apartment was reportedly opened on Thursday when the family returned to Chennai. The police have said that on Friday early morning, the refrigerator’s compressor burst and the toxic fumes , along with the fire that started, resulted in the death of three people. The police are suspecting either a short circuit or a malfunction in the fridge as the reason for the burst. While three of the members of the family who were sleeping in the living room were announced dead to the hospital, two others are receiving treatment in a government hospital.
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