20240913 Two women dead, three injured in Madurai hostel fire
India Sep 13 2024 “Building”
Dead : dead 1 to 4 Burnout : 1 to 29 Injured : injured 1 to 9
Two women dead, three injured in Madurai hostel fire
Updated: 2024-09-13
MADURAI: Two women teachers died of asphyxiation and three others suffered burn injuries in a fire that broke out at a women’s hostel near Periyar bus stand in Madurai in the early hours of Thursday.
Police said the fire was triggered by a compressor explosion in an old, defunct refrigerator. The victims were identified as S Parimala Soundari, 50, a govt school teacher hailing from Eral in Tuticorin, and B Saranya, 22, from Ettayapuram, Tuticorin, a teacher at Annamal Institute of Hotel Management.
The incident happened at the Vishaka private women’s hostel on Katrapalayam Road, functioning on the first and second floors of a congested two-storey building.
Around 35 women were present at the time of the incident. Residents said that around 4.50am they were jolted awake by an explosion on the first floor.
Alarmed by the fire and smoke, the inmates got up and tried to climb down the stairs, but dark, smoke-filled staircases impeded their escape.
Fire and rescue personnel arrived by 5.10am and managed to rescue 30 women. They found Parimala Soundari and Saranya unconscious and rushed them to a hospital nearby where they died.
Hostel warden J Pushpa, 66, K Janani, 17, a nursing student, and M Kani, 65, were treated at a private hospital. P Santhi, 54, a hostel inmate, said Parimala had alerted everyone to evacuate but was unable to save herself.
“Those who lost their lives were among a group of around 10 women who fled to the terrace of the second floor, where rescue personnel later saved them,” M Divya, an inmate, said.
Building owner S Dinakaran had received a demolition notice a year ago from Madurai corporation citing its structural weakness, but he took legal recourse.
The accident has sparked concerns about the threat posed by structurally weak old buildings and unregistered hostels in Madurai city.
Located near the bus stand, the hostel has six rooms on the second floor and eight on the first floor, with each room housing three to four women in a cramped space of about 300-350 square feet.
“When the fire broke out, we had no idea where to escape. Some younger women even went upstairs and jumped to neighbouring buildings to save themselves,” P Santhi, 54, an inmate, recounted.
A senior social welfare department official said that only 36 hostels in Madurai are officially registered, and many operate without licences.
Corporation commissioner C Dinesh Kumar said 424 buildings have been served notices for structural issues, but only 13 have been demolished, with many cases stuck in legal issues.
Inmates of the women’s hostel said the hostel lacked basic amenities including clean toilets, proper water supply, and most crucially, an evacuation route in case of emergencies.
Web Source The Times of India