Thane: Couple dies in house fire; three family members rescued

The fire broke out on the first floor of the two-storey bungalow. The couple and other members of the family were asleep on the first floor when the incident took place,” chief of the Thane Municipal Corporation’s Regional Disaster Management Cell (RDMC) Yasin Tadvi said

Thane: A 60-year-old man and his 55-year-old wife died of suspected suffocation after a fire broke out in their two-storey bungalow Madhvi Nivas in Waghbil area of Thane in the early hours of Saturday, while three of their family members were rescued, a civic official said. The blaze erupted around 3.20am, said the officer.

Thane, India - November,25, 2023: Two people have died in a house fire in Madhavi Niwas on Thane Ghodbunder Road ,in Thane, in Mumbai, India, on, Saturday, November ,25, 2023. ( Praful Gangurde / HT Photo )

“The fire broke out on the first floor of the two-storey bungalow. The couple and other members of the family were asleep on the first floor when the incident took place,” chief of the Thane Municipal Corporation’s Regional Disaster Management Cell (RDMC) Yasin Tadvi said. After being alerted, the personnel of the local fire brigade unit as well as the RDMC rushed to the spot and launched a rescue operation.

They broke open the windowpanes and gained entry into the house to rescue the trapped family members, identified as Pranali Madhvi, 30, Kawish Madhvi 13, and Palash Madhvi, 12.

The couple, Abhimanyu Madhvi and Ramabai Madhvi were found unconscious in a bedroom. The husband-wife along with other family members were rescued and the fire was doused by around 4.30am, the officer said.

“All of them were rushed to the nearby Hiranandani Hospital, where Abhimanyu and Ramabai were declared brought dead. They apparently died of suffocation as a result of smoke caused by the fire,” Tadvi added. The first-floor bedroom was completely gutted in the blaze, he said, adding that window curtains might have caught fire first due to an oil lamp kept near a deity in the room before it spread.

The bodies of the deceased were sent to a government hospital for post-mortem, while their three family members were hospitalised and are out of danger, he said.