Secundrabad hotel tragedy: Not the first instance of an Electric Scooter showroom catching fire

Secundrabad fire incident: A DRDO panel tasked with investigating EV fire incidents by Road Ministry found serious defects in the batteries, including designs of the battery packs and modules.

Image: ANI

On Monday (September 12), a fire broke out at a hotel in Telangana's Secunderabad killing at least eight people and injuring several others. As per agency reports, the fire broke out at an electric scooter recharging unit on the ground floor of a building, which then spread to the first and second floors. The electric scooter showroom in which the fire reportedly started belongs to Ruby Motors. It's not yet clear what caused the fire in the showroom, but initial reports suggest it can be a short circuit or a battery module on charging catching fire.

This is not the first time an electric vehicle showroom caught fire in India. A few months back, a fire broke out at electric scooter maker Ather Energy's experience centre in Chennai. Reporting the incident itself through Twitter, the company informed said that there has been a minor fire incident on its premises in Chennai. "While some property and scooters got affected, thankfully all employees are safe and things are under control. The experience centre will be operational shortly," the EV company said.

This was the first time a whole showroom was gutted in fire incident after several top EV players are facing a government inquiry over battery explosions and fire incidents across the country. EV makers such as Ola Electric, Pure EV, Jitendra EV Tech and Okinawa have been involved in earlier EV fire incidents. Meanwhile, a government panel probing EV fire incidents is set to submit its report next week.

The Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) that was tasked with investigating EV fire incidents by the Union Road Transport and Highways Ministry, has found serious defects in the batteries, including designs of the battery packs and modules.

These defects occur because the electric two-wheeler manufacturers like Okinawa Autotech, Pure EV, Jitendra Electric Vehicles, Ola Electric and Boom Motors may have used "lower-grade materials to cut costs".

With agencies inputs