Darjeeling: A fire broke on Tuesday night at New Basti in Margaret’s Hope Tea Estate under Tung St. Mary’s Constituency, killing an 87-year-old man. The fire is believed to have started due to a short circuit in the house belonging to Dibas Limbu.
At the time of the incident, Dibas Limbu was away for work. His wife Jagima Limbu (36), mother Sukhmaya Limbu (75) and daughter Sanskriti Limbu (15) managed to escape the flames. However, his father, Nanda Kumar Limbu, a former soldier who had been bedridden with paralysis for the past three years, was unable to flee and tragically died on the spot.
Sukhmaya Limbu sustained minor injuries in the fire and was initially treated at the Sonada Primary Health Centre before being discharged. Her condition is reported to be stable. The fire engulfed the entire house, reducing it to ashes. Firefighters from Kurseong, along with police officers from Sonada Police Outpost battled the fire.
Tung St. Mary’s GTA Constituency member Nuri Sherpa visited the site on Wednesday morning and met the affected family. Sherpa personally transported the injured Sukhmaya Limbu to Kurseong Sub-divisional Hospital for further treatment and assured continued support for the family.
“As there are no other houses in the vicinity, there was no one to rescue Nanda Kumar. The elderly wife of the deceased, his daughter-in-law and grand daughter could not pull him out as he was bed ridden. In this hour of grief we stand by them. I have informed the GTA Chief, SDO and BDO. All necessary relief and help will be extended to them,” remarked Sherpa.
The body of Nanda Kumar Limbu was sent to Darjeeling for post-mortem examination.