Two women charred to death

Erode (TN): An 85-year old woman and her daughter were charred to death and two others, including a fireman, injured in a fire caused by suspected leak of LPG in their house here on Sunday.

Saraswathy Ammal and her divorced daughter Mahalakshmi, 55, living alone, died on the spot while the elderly woman`s son, residing in a nearby house, and a fire and rescue service personnel were injured when they attempted to rescue the two women, police said. The fire broke out around 6.30 am and neighbours informed Fire and Rescue service personnel on hearing the alarm raised by the two women. Varadharajan, son of Saraswathy, and Rajkumar, one of the firemen, broke open the house door and rushed into rescue them. But both received serious burn injuries and have been hospitalised. Police said suspected leak of LPG and an electrical short-circuit would have caused the fire, which was doused after nearly a two-hour battle. PTI