Date:02/03/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/03/02/stories/2008030254230100.htm

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Two killed in fire at construction site

Special Correspondent

TAMBARAM: Two workers were burnt to death in a fire that ravaged thatched huts at a construction site of the Kathipara grade separator early on Saturday.

St. Thomas Mount police identified the dead as P. Robin Barui (22) and Pratip Kar (21), both from West Bengal. While Barui was charred to death on the spot, Kar died at the Kilpauk Medical College Hospital.

The Police said the cause of Robin’s death – whether it was due to suffocation or burn injuries – could be ascertained only after they received the post mortem report.

Workers from Muzaffurpur district of Bihar at the site said the fire broke out around 4 a.m. in a row of huts on Inner Ring Road.

It was noticed at the eastern end. More than 100 workers, who were sleeping inside, woke up and fled. Robin was trapped inside.

20-odd huts destroyed

All the 20-odd huts were destroyed by the time fire tenders arrived. The flames also damaged the plastering below the slabs.

The huts measured about 20 feet long and 10 feet wide. Around 10 to 15 persons used to sleep in each of them.

Engineers from the Electrical Inspectorate conducted investigations.

The police and representatives of Somdatt Simplex, the company that has bagged the contract for the National Highways Authority of India project, suspect flames from a firewood stove could have caused the fire. Some workers start cooking early in the morning.