New Delhi, Apr 20 (PTI) A 39-year-old man suffered serious burn injuries in a fire that is suspected to have broken out due to an electric scooter charging in the parking area of a house in south Delhi’s Aya Nagar area, an official said Sunday.

A call about the blaze was received on Saturday following which two fire tenders were rushed to H-Block in Aya Nagar to douse the flames, an official of the Delhi Fire Services said.

The injured, identified as Virender Tiwari, suffered nearly 50 per cent burn injuries and was immediately rushed to Safdarjung Hospital for treatment, he said. Two scooters were also gutted in the fire.

According to police, the fire is suspected to have originated from an electric scooter that was being charged in the parking area on the ground floor of the house.

At the time of the incident, house owner Avdesh Pandey and his friend Virender Tiwari, a resident of G-Block in the same locality, were sitting in a ground floor room, police said.

When the fire broke out, Pandey managed to run upstairs to the first floor, but Tiwari got trapped due to the heavy smoke and was unable to access the upper floor, a senior police officer said.

He eventually managed to open the main gate and exit the house but suffered severe burn injuries in the process.

Other occupants of the house managed to escape from the roof of a neighbouring building, the officer added.

Tiwari was shifted to the hospital by Pandey with the help of residents. His condition is stated to be critical but out of danger.

Further enquiry is underway to ascertain the exact cause of the fire and to verify the sequence of events, police said. PTI SSJ HIG HIG