MADURAI: Two women teachers died of asphyxiation and three others suffered burn injuries in a fire that broke out at a women's hostel near Periyar bus stand in Madurai in the early hours of Thursday.Police said the fire was triggered by a compressor explosion in an old, defunct refrigerator.
The victims were identified as S Parimala Soundari, 50, a govt school teacher hailing from Eral in Tuticorin, and B Saranya, 22, from Ettayapuram, Tuticorin, a teacher at Annamal Institute of Hotel Management.The incident happened at the Vishaka private women's hostel on Katrapalayam Road, functioning on the first and second floors of a congested two-storey building.Around 35 women were present at the time of the incident.
Residents said that around 4.50am they were jolted awake by an explosion on the first floor.Alarmed by the fire and smoke, the inmates got up and tried to climb down the stairs, but dark, smoke-filled staircases impeded their escape.Fire and rescue personnel arrived by 5.10am and managed to rescue 30 women.
They found Parimala Soundari and Saranya unconscious and rushed them to a hospital nearby where they died.Hostel warden J Pushpa, 66, K Janani, 17, a nursing student, and M Kani, 65, were treated at a private hospital.
Some younger women even went upstairs and jumped to neighbouring buildings to save themselves,” P Santhi, 54, an inmate, recounted.A senior social welfare department official said that only 36 hostels in Madurai are officially registered, and many operate without licences.Corporation commissioner C Dinesh Kumar said 424 buildings have been served notices for structural issues, but only 13 have been demolished, with many cases stuck in legal issues.Inmates of the women’s hostel said the hostel lacked basic amenities including clean toilets, proper water supply, and most crucially, an evacuation route in case of emergencies.

Two women dead, three injured in Madurai hostel fire