Woman charred to death, two others critical in Odisha

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhograi, Oct 14:

A woman was charred to death and two others of the family sustained critical burn injuries at Ganeswarpur village under Mandarsahi panchayat of Bhograi Block in Odisha’s Balasore district today.

According to reports, the villagers rushed to the house of one Sapan Behera after hearing a loud explosion this afternoon. When they reached near the site, they spotted an inferno. While they failed to douse the blaze, they informed the fire officials to put off the fire.

After much struggle, the fire was brought under control. However, Sapan Behera’s wife— Mamata (50) — was charred to death by then. Sapan and his daughter-in-law Minu (30) were rescued in critical condition and were rushed to hospital for treatment.

BJD chief whip and local MLA Ananta Das visited the village and expressed his solidarity with the bereaved family members. Das assured them to extend government help.

While the reason behind the mishap was not known, it is suspected that it could have happened due cooking gas cylinder blast or fire cracker explosion. Behera family is into cracker manufacturing business since generations. Due to some reason, the fire crackers might have exploded leading to fatality, sources said.