A fire that started at an electric scooter showroom in India killed at least eight people and injured 11, police said on Tuesday, in what is the deadliest such incident involving electric vehicles in the country.
A spate of electric scooter fires this year has alarmed the government, which is keen to promote use of such two-wheelers in its fight against pollution.
Early investigations have identified faulty battery cells and battery modules among the main causes.
The latest fire broke out late on Monday in a hotel basement housing the showroom with some two dozen electric scooters in the southern city of Secunderabad, police said. It had been brought under control and an investigation had been launched, they said. Most of the dead were occupants of the hotel, which was engulfed by smoke.
“There were electric scooters parked where the fire started,” city police official Chandana Deepti told Reuters. “We don’t know if it started because of overcharging and then spread or whether it started elsewhere.—Reuters
