House fire kills 5 in India

At least five people were killed and four others suffered burn injures Saturday in a devastating fire at a house in northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, officials said.

The fire broke out at Rajnagar area of Ghaziabad district, about 553 km northwest of Lucknow city, the capital of Uttar Pradesh.

"In a fire incident at a residential area in Ghaziabad district today, five people were killed and four others were injured," an official said. "Four people have apparently died in the blaze, while as one person jumped from house and died due to head injury."

The official said four people including two fire personnel who received burn injures were admitted at district hospital Ghaziabad.

Locals said the fire broke out due to short circuit in the house, housing an office.

However, police said it has ordered an investigation to ascertain the exact cause of the fire.

"We have also ordered postmortem of the bodies," the official said.

Chances of fire in Indian villages and cities are usually high as people often ignore safety standards and store fuel and combustible materials in a haphazard way.

Source: XINHUA