Locked at home, 2 children have narrow escape as AC explodes

An eight-year-old girl's presence of mind saved her and her brother's life when the air conditioner (AC) in their bedroom exploded in southwest Delhi's Dabri area on Wednesday around 9pm.

An eight-year-old girl's presence of mind saved her and her brother's life when the air conditioner (AC) in their bedroom exploded in southwest Delhi's Dabri area on Wednesday around 9pm.

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At the time of the incident, Harsh (5) and Khushi (8), were alone at home as their mother, Poonam, had gone to their neighbour's house. Their father, Pradeep Bhardwaj, a software engineer, was at his Gurgaon office.

Both the children were watching TV in the bedroom of their C-13, first floor, Dabri Extension residence. Khushi, seeing some sparks and smoke coming from the AC, took her brother to the next room.

"As soon as they left the room, the AC exploded and fire broke out in it. Scared, the children hid under a bed. Since the entrance was bolted from outside they began screaming for help," said a police official.

Hearing the screams, the ground floor tenant came out and saw smoke coming from the first floor. He and some other neighbours rushed to rescue the children. Meanwhile, police and three fire tenders also reached the spot. "The fire department's rescue team rescued the children and doused the blaze within 15 minutes," the senior official said.