JAMSHEDPUR: A one-year-old girl died while her mother was battling for life with 90% burn injuries following a fire mishap in Rangaring village of Saranda in West Singhbhum late on Saturday night, police said on Sunday.
The fire started after the infant, Birsi, inadvertently pulled down the burning dhibri (country-made lantern) in their hut, said the in-charge of Kiriburu police station, Ashok Kumar. Her mother, Parvati (25), who was sleeping at the time, woke up after hearing the screams of the child. But by the time she could rescue the girl, the minor had received serious burn injuries. “In the course of rescuing her daughter, the mother also received 90% burns,” said the police official.
The deceased’s father, Sagar Purty, told police that he was near the house when the mishap took place and rushed to spot after seeing the flames.
He pulled out his wife and daughter from the fire, but while doing so received moderate burn injuries.
“It was a thatched hut with a roof covered with forest wood and dry straw bundles due to which the fire spread rapidly,” the OC said. The fire gutted the hut in a short time.
The mother and daughter were rushed to the SAIL-run hospital in Kiriburu for treatment. The minor died while undergoing treatment.
In a similar mishap last week, a 33-year-old mother, Manko Hansda, and her one-and-a-half-year-old daughter Munki died after getting caught in fire. The mother was cooking a meal on a clay stove with the daughter on her lap when the fire started. The incident occurred in Baliguma under MGM police station area in Jamshedpur.