Four Odisha minors burnt to death while playing with haystack

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced an ex-gratia of ₹four lakh each to the families of the deceased.

In a freak accident, four minors including a girl, succumbed to their burn injuries in Ganjam district on Sunday while playing near a heap of burning straw.

The haystack caught fire and engulfed the four children from all sides. The children sustained critical burn injuries. (Image used for representation). (FILE PHOTO.)

Four children, aged between 5 and 10 years, were playing with a bunch of sticks and haystack in a half-constructed toilet room in Khairachata village of Polasara block in Ganjam district on Sunday morning.All of a sudden, the haystack caught fire and engulfed the four from all sides. The children sustained critical burn injuries.

While three children- Deepak Goud, Sairam Jani and Itishree Jena- died on the spot, another boy Alok Jena succumbed to his inuries at the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack.

“My son was playing along with other children when the accident occurred. I was cooking when locals raised an alarm,” said Pratima Jani, mother of deceased Sairam.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed grief over the death of three children and announced an ex-gratia of ₹four lakh each to the families of the deceased.