Varkala: Five members of a family, including an infant, were charred to death in a housefire here on Tuesday.
Prathapan's house Rahul Niwas in Dalavapuram caught fire at 1.45am on Tuesday.
The deceased include Prathapan aka Baby(62), Sherly (53), Abhirami(25) and Ahil (29). Abhirami's eight-month-old son Riyan also died of injuries.
The eldest son of Prathapan, Nihul, who sustained severe burns has been admitted to the hospital.
The neighbours alerted the fire force and police on spotting the fire.
According to eyewitnesses, at least five bikes were on fire when they rushed to the house. The fire is likely to have spread to the two-storeyed house from the car porch. Airconditioners were also completely destroyed, they said.
"We are investigating the matter. The interiors of the house were completely destroyed in the fire. We shall call forensic experts and examine all angles of the case," Rural SP Divya Gopinath informed Manorama News.
The fire force personnel, who rushed to the spot, managed to break open the door on the rear side of the house and entered the building which was engulfed in thick black plumes of smoke.
Range DIG, R Nishanthini carried out an inspection in the house and said the living rooms on the ground floor and the upstairs were gutted completely.
"Prima facie, we could not find anything suspicious. The forensic and electric experts have arrived and we can say anything conclusive only after receiving their reports. As per the CCTV visuals, the fire break was spotted by 1.15 am. Local people said that fire and smoke was found billowing from the car porch," she told reporters.
Fire force department sources said short circuit might be the reason for the fire while the air-conditioned rooms, lack of proper ventilation and false ceiling boards made of gypsum might have aggravated the danger.
Smoke inhalation could be the reason for the tragic death of the hapless family members, they added. The bodies were shifted to the Thiruvananthapuram medical college for autopsy and a comprehensive probe was launched.
Prathapan, a vegetable vendor, has been conducting business in the area for a long time. The family usually retired to sleep early by 10 pm and woke up by 4am, the neighbours said.
