Andhra man killed, 3 injured as battery of e-scooter explodes

Vijayawada, April 23: In yet another incident, a man was killed and three others were injured when the battery of an electric two-wheeler exploded in their house in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday. The incident occurred in Vijayawada early Saturday when the man had kept the battery on charging in the bedroom.

Shiva Kumar, his wife and their two children sustained burn injuries. Hearing their screams, neighbours rushed to their rescue and shifted them to a hospital, where Shiva Kumar succumbed while his wife is stated to be in critical condition.

The man had reportedly purchased the electric scooter on Friday. Name of the manufacturer and other details are awaited. This is the second incident in the Telugu states in less than a week.

An 80-year-old man was killed and two others were injured in Telangana's Nizamabad district on April 19 when the battery of electric two-wheeler exploded. The incident occurred in a house where the the battery was being charged.

B. Ramaswamy died in the incident while his son B. Prakash and daughter Kamalamma suffered burn injuries when they tried to rescue him. They were admitted to a hospital. Police registered a case under Indian Penal Code Section 304A (causing death due to negligence) against Pure EV and took up investigation.

Pure EV issued a statement deeply regretting the incident and stating that it is cooperating with local authorities and seeking details from the user. A series of such incidents in the country have created concern over the safety of batteries. Three Pure EV scooters and electric vehicles of some other manufacturers caught fire in separate incidents in recent months.