Man charred to death

Vizianagaram: A man who was sleeping in a thatched house was charred to death when his house caught fire following the spread of a campfire in Merakamudidam mandal of Vizianagaram district on Sunday night. Locals at Merakamudidam before going to sleep on Sunday night lit the campfire to protect themselves from the winter chill.

But at mid night, while they were asleep, the campfire spread to nearby homes. The flames have spread to four houses. The locals alerted the inmates and they came out of their homes. But Machalingam (60) who was in deep sleep was burnt alive as the flames engulfed his house. The family members found him dead on his cot on Monday morning.