AHMEDABAD: There can be no smoke without fire, goes a proverb. So can there be burns without a fire then? Mystery shrouds the death of a middle-aged woman who recently succumbed to deep burns that covered 57% of her body after she accidentally fell on a heap of sand.
On June 22, Salmabano Ansari was riding pillion with her husband Nizamuddin Ansari
(52) on their way to Narol when her husband lost control of the scooter while trying to avoid a collision with a speeding truck. Salma fell on a heap of sand on the roadside at Ganeshnagar near Pirana dumping yard.
Sprawled on the sand, Salma started screaming in pain. When Nizamuddin stepped on the mound, he felt as if his legs were set on fire. Desperate cries of help attracted locals who shifted the duo to VS Hospital where doctors diagnosed Salma to have suffered 57% deep burns while Nizamuddin had sustained 15% burns.
‘Chemicals dumped in sand may be cause of burns’
Doctors said the burn wounds were covered with mud, sand and some sticky material even as there was no history of fire recorded.
Salma's deep burns refused to heal despite
skin grafting and she finally succumbed to her burns on July 17.
Sources said sand samples have been sent to FSL for further investigation. “Since there was no fire, it could be a case of burns due to chemicals dumped in the area. FSL report is expected to reveal which chemicals may have been dumped there,” a police source aware of the development told TOI.
“How could we have got burnt when there was no fire? When Salma fell on sand she screamed in pain saying her body was on fire. My legs too felt as if someone had singed them. How could my wife die due to burns when there was not even a spark on the spot,” said Nizamuddin, a vegetable vendor, who is still under treatment for his injuries.
Nizamuddin alleges that his wife may have become a victim of the illegal chemical dumping which is rampant in the industrial belt of Vatva-Narol.
“The only explanation could be that some chemical may have been dumped in the sand heap,” said Nizamuddin.
Narol police is investigating the case after filing a complaint of accidental death after Salma died on July 17.
“The husband-wife duo fell on a sand heap after which wife died of burns in the hospital. A case of accidental death has been registered," said R A Jadhav, Narol police inspector.
GPCB member secretary KC Mistry “I have never come across such a case in my career. I have seen burns caused due to oleum or sulphates, but never saw people dying of skin burns.”
Salmabano Ansari 
