VIJAYAWADA: A man was killed and three others were injured when the battery of an electric two-wheeler exploded and triggered a fire in their house in Gulabi Thota at Vijayawada on Saturday. The battery had been kept for charging in the bedroom.
This is the second fatality involving charging of an EV, after an incident in Nizamabad last week.
The incident at Vijayawada occurred in the early hours in the house of K. Siva Kumar, 42, who was killed in the explosion. His wife Harathi and their two children Bindusri and Sasi sustained burns.
According to the locals, Siva Kumar, a private company employee, had a Boom Corbett 14 electric two-wheeler. The battery exploded with a loud sound and the resultant fire spread to other parts of the house, damaging gadgets.
Neighbours jolted awake by the sound of the explosion and Muslims families who were preparing for their Ramzan fast rushed to the spot, broke the doors and rescued the family. They called the police who shifted the family to hospital.
Shiv Kumar died on the way. His family members were undergoing treatment at a private hospital, police said. His wife Harati’s condition is stated to be critical.
This is the first such incident in Vijayawada and the second in Telugu states in less than a week. On April 19, an 80-year-old man was killed and two others were injured in Nizamabad district of Telangana when the battery of an electric two-wheeler exploded.
The Suryaraopeta police said that a case was registered and a detailed investigation has been started into the cause of the explosion and the condition of the battery and equipment.
Vijayawada Central MLA Malladi Vishnu and local corporator K. Malleswari and others went to the spot and inquired about the incident.
CPM state leader Chigurupati Babu Rao and other party leaders visited the residence of Siva Kumar and spoke to the locals. He demanded that the government conduct a detailed probe into the safety of electric scooters and take measures to prevent similar mishaps.
