ARARIA: Nine children have been charred to death in two separate incidents of fire in Araria and Bhagalpur districts of Bihar, officials said on Tuesday.
Six children were burnt alive in Kavaiya village of Palasi police station area of Araria in the afternoon, Deputy Superintendent of Police Ejaz Hafiz said.
The deceased included two girls aged four and six years while the remaining were boys in the age group of four to five years, he said.
The children belonged to families living in the same locality and they had got trapped inside a hut made of straw when it accidentally caught fire, the Deputy SP said.
In Bhagalpur, three siblings were charred to death while their parents sustained serious burn injuries when their house caught fire Monday night while dinner was being cooked.
According to Sujay Kumar Singh, the Sub Divisional Officer concerned, the tragedy struck the family daily wage earner Lal Muni Mandal in Pirpainti police station area where his five- year-old son and daughters aged three and one died in the fire.
Mandal and his wife were rushed to a hospital in Bhagalpur where they were said to be out of danger.
The flames were doused by neighbours which prevented the fire from spreading to adjoining houses.