Andhra Pradesh Doctor, 2 children killed in hospital fire

Tirupati: A 45-year-old doctor and his two children were killed in a fire that broke out due to an alleged short circuit at a newly constructed private hospital-cum-residence at Renigunta in Andhra Pradesh's Tirupati district. The initial investigation has revealed that the fire might be caused due to short-circuit. 

The fire broke on the top floor of the hospital building where the doctor was living with his family. Dr. Ravishankar Reddy and his son and daughter lost their lives. His wife, Dr. Ananta Lakshmi and his mother were rescued by the firemen and taken to the hospital.

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The incident occurred around 4.30 a.m. at Kartika Hospital for children in Bhagat Singh Nagar at Renigunta near the temple town of Tirupati. There were no in-patients at the hospital as it had opened recently. The fire was reportedly triggered due to a short-circuit, following which the doctor suffered from 90% burns and died on the spot while he attempted to save his children, reports the Times of India.

The doctor was found on the second floor, and the police suspect that he might have fallen after getting overwhelmed by the smoke. 

The fire fighting personnel rescued the two children, Bharat (12) and Kartika (15), from the second floor where they were trapped and immediately shifted them to another hospital, where they succumbed to their injuries within a few hours as they had inhaled too much of the poisonous carbon monoxide gas. The condition of the doctor's wife and mother is stated to be stable.

A fire official told NDTV, "There was a lot of furniture and household appliances, and not enough doors and windows for the smoke to escape, so it became a gas chamber." The fire is reported to have spread due to a large number of furniture, electronic devices, and cardboard boxes inside Karthikeya Hospital. 

A police officer said they received the information about the fire around 4.50 a.m. Two fire tenders rushed to the hospital and doused the fire. Police suspect that a short circuit led to the fire. The actual cause of the fire will be known after a detailed investigation, police said. A case has been registered at the Renigunta police. 

The doctor who is from the Kadapa district had recently shifted to Renigunta and recently set up the hospital in Vasundhara Nagar locality around five years ago. The Renigunta police said that the doctor and his family lived on the first and second floors while the hospital functioned from the ground floor of the building. 

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