Six people, including five children were killed in a fire that broke out at a house in Meerut, police said. They added that the fire could have been triggered by a short circuit.
Meerut SP Avinash Pandey told PTI, "The incident occurred at Kidwai Nagar around 8 pm on Monday. Seven people were admitted to the civil hospital with burn injuries. The doctors later declared six of them dead."
The deceased have been identified as Rukhsar (25), Mahbish (12), Hammad (4), Akdas (4), Nabia (4 months) and Inayat (4 months), all residents of Gali No.3 near the Surahi Wali Masjid in Kidwai Nagar. Another woman, Ameer Bano (55) who sustained injuries is undergoing treatment.
The officer said that they had received information about the fire at the residence of Iqbal Ahmad was received at 8:49 pm, following which police and fire brigade teams rushed to the spot and brought the flames under control.
According to police, tailoring work was done at the house, for which a large quantity of cloth was stored there, which caused the flames to spread rapidly.
(With inputs from PTI)