KATHMANDU, Jan 1: A tragic fire incident in the capital involving a gas heater has claimed the lives of an engineer couple, while their one-and-half-year-old child is currently undergoing treatment for burns.

Pushkar Raj Joshi and his wife Apsara Shrestha—both in their mid-thirties -- died in a span of five days after the fire incident at their rented apartment in Kalanki December 22 involving a gas heater left them with serious burn injuries . The child is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Bhaktapur.

Friends close to the engineer couple said although it is not clear what exactly caused the fire, they suspect that gas leakage from the heater placed near the door of their bedroom might have resulted in fire. The couple, who were having momo while enjoying the warmth of the gas heater, soon found themselves helpless as the fire engulfed the entire room around 6 pm that fateful day.

Engineer Dinesh Bhatta, a close friend of the couple, said, citing local residents, that the couple had cried out for help as they could not break out from the inferno in the room .

“But nobody seems to have turned up at the site immediately while the couple struggled save themselves and their child,” said Bhatta.

Shrestha's mother used to live with the couple to take care of the child. But luckily for her, she was away that day in order to participate in a family 'Kul Puja' ceremony.

Locals said neighbors called the police thinking it was some burglars . Later, when a few locals and police reached the incident site, the engineer couple and their child were found severely burnt.

All three were taken to Shahid Memorial Hospital by the police. But as the hospital did not specialize in burn injuries, the couple was taken to the Burn Center at Kirtipur. It was already 10 pm when they reached there.

Doctors had little hope of saving Joshi but they tried to save the life of his wife. On December 26, they decide to amputate Joshi's infected hands to increase his survival chances. But he breathed his last around 1 am the same night.

As a dialysis facility was not available at the hospital, Shrestha, who was battling for her life, was taken to Nepal Medicity Hospital at Bhainsepati for further treatment. She also breathed her last, on Monday morning.

Engineer Bhatta said they had even thought of taking the injured couple to a well-equipped hospital in India via air ambulance. “But doctors said it was not wise to take them until their condition was more stable. Ultimately, we lost the young engineer couple who were so friendly with us all,” lamented Bhatta.

Joshi originally hailed from Dogada Kedar Rural Municipality in Baitadi district, while Shrestha was from Bandipur, Dumre of Tanahun district. Both of them had earned their master's degrees in engineering.

The incident has raised serious concerns over the safety standards of gas cylinders and gas heaters that are widely used here during winter.

 
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