Fire at Sridevi's house

A source close to the family said, "It was due to a short circuit in the air conditioner in Sridevi's bedroom. The bedroom has almost been destroyed in the fire." When contacted, Sridevi's business manager, Pankaj Kharbanda, said, "All the paintings done by Sridevi and most of her wardrobe has been destroyed in the fire. We don't think there is anything left in the bedroom that can be salvaged.

The picture will be clearer in the morning. It was her presence of mind that she immediately switched off the main switch of their residence, and the fire did not spread to other parts of the house."

At the time the mishap took place, Sridevi, her mother-in-law and her daughters were at home. She got her mother-in-law out safely, who is now at Sanjay Kapoor's residence. Both the daughters were sent out for dinner with their friends.

Their pet dogs were brought out and were kept in their car. Boney, who rushed home from Bandra, remained there till 9.30 pm. With the house in darkness, the family is likely to have spent the night in a hotel.

One fire engine and a tanker rushed to the spot immediately. "The situation was under control within a few minutes and the tanker and engine returned within half an hour. It was a minor fire," explained a fire official.

With inputs from Neha LM Tripathi