Three truck drivers charred to death near Coimbatore; four suffer burns

Tragic fire incident in Coimbatore leaves three truck drivers dead and four others severely burned in a room accident.

Three truck drivers were charred to death while four others suffered burns after fire spread in a retiring room for drivers at Muthugoundenpudur near Coimbatore in the early hours of Tuesday, July 16, 2024.

The deceased have been identified as P. Azhaguraja, Muthu Kumar and Chinna Karuppu, all hailing from Theni district. Four others, namely Pandeeswaran, Dinesh, Veeramani and Manoj suffered 20-80% burns.

The police said the men had been staying with Azhaguraja at his rented room at Muthugoundenpudur near Sulur. They worked as drivers for fuel tankers and other trucks.

According to police, the accident took place shortly after midnight when one of the drivers, who was allegedly inebriated, poured petrol from a large container to a one litre bottle, to be used for a two-wheeler, when the fuel spilled. Since Pandeeswaran was preparing food in the same room, using an LPG stove, it caught fire. Soon, the fire spread across the room and all the seven men got trapped. Azhaguraja, Muthu Kumar and Chinna Karuppu were charred to death.

The police and the fire brigades from Sulur reached the spot, after being alerted by neighbours. Firefighters doused the flames and the police shifted the deceased and the injured to hospitals.

In his statement to a magistrate at the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital, Mr. Pandeeswaran stated that the fire occurred due to the spilling of fuel when one of them transferred it from a 10 litre container to a one litre bottle.

The police said that Dinesh, Veeramani and Manoj suffered around 80% burns while Pandeeswaran sustained around 20% burns.