At least six people died and four others were injured after a fire broke out at a building in Shiva Nagar in Kathua district in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday morning. Among the dead, two were children who died of asphyxiation when a fire erupted in their house. Four injured were hospitalised, officials said.
The fire at the house filled the house with thick smoke while its occupants were sleeping. Locals noticed the fire around 2.30 am and rushed to the house, officials said.
The victims were shifted to the Government Medical College Hospital in Kathua, where six, including two minors, were declared brought dead, they said.
“Ten people were brought to the hospital. Six were brought dead, and four others were injured,” a senior doctor at the hospital said.
Preliminary investigations suggest the victims died by suffocation after inhaling the smoke, the doctor said, adding that no burn injuries were reported.
Kathua GMC Principal SK Atri on Wednesday said, “A fire broke out in a rented house of a retired assistant matron. Out of 10 people, 6 were brought dead and 4 of them were injured.”
Prima facie it seems like the cause of the death is suffocation, he added. Police are investigating the matter and the bodies will be released after the post-mortem, Atri said.
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