Woman, son die of suffocation after fire in warehouse in Ballia

Varanasi: A 22-year-old woman and her 4-year-old son died of suffocation caused by thick fumes after a major fire broke out in a warehouse at Chilkahar village under Gadwar police station in Ballia district in early hours on Monday. The woman's father-in-law was reportedly missing.The fire broke out around 3am in a building owned by one Neeraj Chaurasia, who operated a wholesale grocery warehouse on the ground floor of his building on Dumri Road on the village outskirts. Due to a huge stock of cooking oil and other inflammable materials stored in the warehouse, flames quickly engulfed the entire ground floor.Ballia SP Omveer Singh said that after villagers raised the alarm, Gadwar police reached the site to take stock. Later, fire tenders were called from across the district in view of the intensity of the fire. The firefighters continued efforts to control the fire till afternoon as oil and other inflammables inside the warehouse kept fuelling the flames, while thick smoke hampered rescue operations.Confirming two deaths, the SP said that Neeraj's wife Rinki (22) and their son, Dheeraj (4) died of suffocation. Neeraj tried to rescue them from a room on the first floor but failed and eventually jumped from a window to save himself, fracturing his leg in the process, the SP said, adding that Neeraj's father, Jhulan Chaurasia, could not be traced. While some suspected that Jhulan left home around 2.30am after locking it from outside, many claimed that he might have been charred to death. Meanwhile, a police field unit and senior officials camped in the village to investigate the incident. During police investigation, it came to light that Neeraj's family lived on the first floor of the building. When the fire broke out, Neeraj rushed upstairs to wake his wife and son, but the staircase door was locked from outside, leaving them trapped inside. To save his life, Neeraj jumped from the roof and sustained a leg fracture. Hearing his screams for help and seeing smoke rising from the building, locals rushed to rescue them. After strenuous efforts, villagers and firefighters managed to pull Rinki and Dheeraj out and rushed them to a hospital, where doctors declared both of them dead.