EV fire in India: Man dies in battery explosion one day after buying electric scooter

This incident occurs just a day after an 80-year-old man lost his life in a similar case of battery explosion while charging in Telangana State. Fiery accidents in e-scooters are now being reported frequently and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has issued a preliminary course of action. 

40-year-old loses his life in a battery explosion in his e-scooter

Forty-year-old Kotakonda Siva Kumar from Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, lost his life on Saturday when his e-scooter’s battery pack exploded while charging. The Boom Corbett 14 e-scooter was purchased on Friday. 

The incident took place in Siva Kumar’s home in Gulabi Thota. NV Suryanarayana, station house officer of Suryaraopet police station in Vijayawada, stated that the battery was put for charge at 10 pm before the victim went to sleep. The explosion happened around 3.30 am, post which the entire house was engulfed in smoke. 

Siva Kumar has reportedly died after succumbing to his burns and suspected asphyxiation. His wife, Harathi, and two children, Bindu Sri and Sasi, suffered thirty per cent burns and were reported to be serious after having inhaled thick smoke. Immediate response and help were provided by neighbours, who also informed the police and called for an ambulance. The family of the deceased has now been shifted to a private hospital where they are currently undergoing treatment. 

Boom Motors to investigate the matter

The electric scooter was identified to be from the company Boom Motors and the Boom Corbett 14 was delivered to the customer the day before it exploded. While a representative of the company planned to inspect the affected vehicle, a primary investigation report mentions that a short circuit in the faulty battery of the e-scooter could’ve affected the household wiring while charging and caused an explosion. 

Growing concerns over the safety of e-scooters have surfaced in the recent past as multiple victims of such battery-related explosions have lost their lives. A day before this Vijayawada incident, an 80-year-old man from Telangana lost his life. Earlier in March, a father-daughter daughter duo lost their lives due to a fire in their Okinawa scooter in Vellore. A 60-year-old man who was the owner of an HCD India made cargo e-scooter also lost his life in December after his vehicle caught fire while charging.