Keonjhar: In a heartrending incident, a 14-year-old Class IX girl died of burns after flames from a flat-wick lamp caught her at sleep Tuesday night. The incident was reported from Ketang village under Ghatgaon block in Keonjhar district. The deceased was Tilatama Biswal, daughter of Satyananda Biswal.
According to reports, due to lack of electricity in the village, the villagers often lit oil lamps in their sleeping rooms to avoid rats, snakes and other reptiles.As usual, the family went to sleep after burning a flat-wick lamp. Unfortunately, fire from the burning lamp caught the mattress on which the minor was asleep.
Before Tilatama, waking from deep sleep could realize, the the blaze had engulfed hery. Hearing her screams, family members woke up and tried to douse the flames. However, it was too late.
After much struggle, the girl breathed her last there itself. The family could not take her to a hospital due to lack of communication and vehicles in the village.
Police reached the village Wednesday morning and launched a probe.
