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3 of family suffocate to death after AC explodes at Faridabad home; one survives
The blaze, which broke out around 3am in Block B of Green Field Colony, filled the four-storey building with thick, poisonous smoke.
A predawn explosion in an air-conditioning unit turned a Faridabad home into a death trap on Monday, suffocating a couple, their 13-year-old daughter and their pet dog, while their 24-year-old son survived after leaping through shattered glass to the terrace of a neighbouring house.
The blaze, which broke out around 3am in Block B of Green Field Colony, filled the four-storey building with thick, poisonous smoke, officials said, trapping the family of four that lived on the second floor.
The victims were identified as Sachin Kapoor, 52, his wife Rinku, 46, and their daughter Sujan, 13. Their son, Aryan, a student in Dehradun, sustained fractures after jumping from near the terrace door to escape.
Investigators said the Kapoors lived on the second floor. The fire erupted in an air-conditioning unit on the first floor, rapidly spreading toxic smoke through the staircase and the second-floor flat occupied by the Kapoors.
Sachin also ran a stock market investment office from a rented third-floor flat in the same building.
Fire department officials aware of the case said that the family appeared to have been woken by the fire and tried to flee to the building’s rooftop in an apparent attempt to escape the smoke, but were trapped between the third and fourth floors.
“Sachin, his wife and their daughter were found lying unconscious on the staircase along with their dog. Firefighters pulled them out and rushed them to a private hospital 1.5 km away, but they were declared dead. There were no burn marks on the bodies -- suffocation from smoke inhalation appears to be the likely cause of death,” said Yashpal Yadav, PRO of Faridabad Police.
The sole survivor
The sole survivor in the family, Aryan, managed to break a glass window beside the terrace door and, with the help of neighbours, jumped onto the terrace of an adjacent house. “He sustained cuts, bruises and fractures but is undergoing treatment,” said an investigator, who asked not to be identified. Officials believe the trio who died may have panicked in the smoke-filled, poorly lit staircase, collapsing before they could force open the locked terrace door after failing in their initial attempt to escape by rushing downstairs due to the inferno on the first floor.
“It took about 45 minutes for rescue workers to reach the spot where the three were lying. By then, it was probably too late,” said inspector Prehlad Singh, SHO of Surajkund Police Station.
The blaze left other residents – from the building’s first and fourth floor – trapped as well.
Seven members of a family living on the fourth floor were rescued after firefighters cut through a locked iron gate on the terrace. “The flames and smoke engulfed the entire flat on the first floor, and within minutes,” said a fire official.
The first-floor residents – the Malik family – narrowly survived. “Rakesh Malik, his wife Ritu Malik and their minor son and daughter were asleep in two of the rooms of the flat in which smoke was building up after the fire. Ritu was first to get up. The entire family rushed out from the ground floor while alerting the families living upstairs,” a fire department official said.
According to fire officials, the AC that exploded had been repaired just a month earlier.
The building owner, Rakesh Yadav, was reportedly planning to replace faulty wiring in the first-floor flat. “Whether the fire was caused solely due to AC malfunction or damaged wiring leading to overheating is under investigation,” a fire officer said.
The incident raised questions about electrical safety in areas where old wiring and overburdened appliances are common. “Even a minor lapse in maintenance can turn catastrophic at night,” an officer noted.
By morning, neighbours and relatives gathered outside the charred building as the bodies of the family were handed over to their kin after the autopsy.
