Did overcharging of e-scooters cause Secunderabad killer fire? Probe on

The fire that killed at least eight people and injured 11 at hotel in Secunderabad started at an electric scooter showroom in the basement, reports said Tuesday.

The fire started in the basement which housed two dozen electric scooters and the smoke and flames engulfed Hotel Ruby Pride situated above the showroom, PTI reported. Most of the victims were asphyxiated.

Police said the smoke travelled up the staircase from the basement to the top floor and completely engulfed all four floors containing 23 rooms in all.


The exact reasons for the fire, whether it was due to short circuit or charging of batteries in the cellar or in the first floor, where the scooter showroom is located, would be known after Fire Department's investigation, Hyderabad Police Commissioner CV Anand told reporters.

City police official Chandana Deepti told Reuters that it was still to be established how the fire started.

"There were electric scooters parked where the fire started ...We don't know if it started because of overcharging and then spread or whether it started elsewhere. That is still being established, Deepti said.

The make of the e-scooters being sold there was not immediately known. Police are also probing whether the cellar, which usually should be used for parking, was being used for something else.

There have been a spate of electric scooter fires this year in the country, but this is the deadliest such incident. In the earlier incidents, faulty battery cells were faulted in preliminary investigations.

The fire, which started around 9.30 pm on Monday night, quickly spread and cranes and other equipment were used to pluck stranded hotel guests from upper floors of the four-storey building.

India is promoting electric vehicles in the fight against pollution, and wants the total sale of e-scooters and e-bikes to be up from about 2% now to 80% by the year 2030.