A Chennai based journalist Prasanna, his wife Archana, and mother Revathy passed away on Thursday after a fridge in their house caught fire. Early investigations suggest that high voltage had caused the compressor of the fridge to burst, starting a fire. It is said that the family may have asphyxiated to death. A source close to him reported: “The fire is suspected to have started Thursday early morning. While it did not engulf the house, it burnt the plastics and created more smoke. The family is said to have passed away after inhaling the smoke. They must have shut the doors to switch on the air conditioner and as a result, trapped the smoke inside the house.”

The bodies of Prasanna and his mother were found in the living room. The fire department who retrieved the bodies, alerted his company. The source added: “News of their death spread by 10:30 or 11 am at the NewsJ office. A few of their colleagues went to the house and confirmed the accident. Prasanna had even come to office the previous day and had gone back home after his afternoon shift. On Thursday he was missing in office and his colleagues tried calling him. But there was no response.”

36-year-old Prasanna was a senior reporter in the Tamil news network NewsJ. With more than a decade of experience, he had also worked in Thanthi Tv and GTV. Their house was located in Selaiyur, Tambaram. A case has been filed and investigations are ongoing.