Bengaluru: 4-year-old boy dies in fire triggered by short circuit at apartment

Bengaluru: A four-year-old child died in a fire at a makeshift room on top of an apartment complex in Sultanpalya in northern Bengaluru on Sunday.

Officials said the fire occurred due to a short circuit while the boy was sleeping inside the room.

A senior officer in the Fire and Emergency Services said the department received an alert at 6.10 pm and a fire tender was deployed immediately. “Our firefighters reached the top floor, doused the flames and found the body of the child,” the officer told DH.

According to the officer, the 10x7 room was built on the top floor of a G+4 apartment complex for the security guard and his family, who hailed from Nepal. The man worked as a security guard, while his wife worked as a maid in the apartment complex. As per their daily routine, the couple put the baby to sleep, latched the room from the outside and went to work, police said.

“There were electric appliances inside the room like an iron box, which intensified the blaze,” the officer said.

The child’s body was sent for an autopsy and a report is awaited, a police officer said, adding that Scene of Crime (SoC) officers and a Bescom team visited the spot. An inquiry will be conducted.