GUWAHATI, Jan 23 - In a horrific tragedy, two minor boys, both brothers, were charred to death when they were caught in a fire in their house located in the Wireless (Beltola) area of the city on Thursday noon.
The fire broke out at the residence of Tushar Goswami, a businessman living at House No. 2, Basisthapur Bylane-1, under Hatigaon police station, around 12:50 pm.
The deceased � both sons of Goswami � have been identified as eight-year-old Ishan Krishnatreya and three-year-old Ibon Krishnatreya.
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, while condoling the deaths, has directed the Kamrup (Metro) district administration to conduct an inquiry into the incident.
According to police sources, six persons, including the children, were present in the house when the incident happened. Mother of the children Silpi Goswami, grandmother Deepali Goswami, caretaker of the house Krishna Kashyap Barman and a plumber working at the campus backyard were present. But the children were alone on the upper floor of the duplex during the tragedy, as the rest of the persons were outside.
�Such was the intensity of the fire that we could do little to save the children. The fire spread within seconds into all the rooms of the first floor. The children were sleeping in one of the three rooms there. Their father was in Sivasagar in connection with his work,� Barman said.
He added that little Ibon had his birthday today.
Another eyewitness Bipul Mudoi, who was working in a nearby building, rushed to the spot and tried to rescue the children. �I saw two women crying after reaching the house. I tried my best but did not succeed in entering the room where the children were in,� he said.
When the police and firefighters reached the spot, the upper portion of the duplex was reduced to ashes. A fire department official said that a call was received around 1:15 pm about the incident following which eight fire-tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the fire. It took nearly half an hour to control the blaze.
The children were taken to the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) where doctors declared them brought dead. Police said the bodies were handed over to the family after post-mortem.
The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. �From primary investigation, the incident seems to have originated from an electric short-circuit that then led to an LPG cylinder blast in the kitchen. Conversely, the fire could have been triggered by a cylinder blast as well. Further investigation is on,� Assistant Commissioner of Police (Basistha), Punam Pegu said.
The police also recovered five more LPG cylinders from the house � one filled and four empty.
A bike was also partially damaged in the fire.
The tragedy also serves to highlight the hazards stemming from old and worn-out LPG cylinders that are highly vulnerable to malfunction.
�Many old and worn-out LPG cylinders continue to be in circulation even after the lapse of their expiry dates due to the laxity of the authorities concerned. Such cylinders pose a serious fire hazard,� a local resident said, adding that the government should strictly ensure that such cylinders are withdrawn from circulation immediately.