3-year-old and 8-year-old killed in fast-moving fire at Assam home

Two children were burnt to death in a fire that broke out at their home in the Basisthapur area on Thursday afternoon when they were alone in a room on the first floor.

The bodies of Ishan Goswami and his brother Evan Goswami - aged eight and three - were found completely burnt after the fire engulfed the house within minutes while their grandmother helplessly looked on from the ground floor. The children were at home as their school was closed for Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's birth anniversary.

Thursday also happened to be Evan's third birthday. At the time of the incident, their father Tushar Goswami, a geologist, was in Sivasagar district in upper Assam and their mother Leena was not at home as she had gone out to handle some work

"We heard their shouts and tried to rush in but could not enter their floor as fire had already engulfed the floor," a relative told a local television channel. "The fire spread fast as an LPG cylinder exploded. When the fire came under control, they had already died."
Police suspected that the fire could have started from an electric short circuit and spread quickly from the LPG cylinder explosion.

On hearing about the incident, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal shared condolences and ordered an investigation.