House fire in Thane claims 5 children of a family

Five siblings, including a seven-month-old baby, were killed, after the hutment in which they lived, caught fire in Bhiwandi here, police said today.

While four of the deceased children, identified as Priya (12), Niteen (7), Preeti (5) and seven-month-old baby Nitesh had died yesterday, the 10-year-old Riya, who was undergoing treatment at a hospital here, succumbed to her injuries today, police said.

The mother of the deceased children, Sonkali Mohanlal Gupta, has also sustained severe burn injuries in the blaze and has been admitted to Thane civic hospital.

According to inspector Dileep Suryawanshi at Shanti Nagar police station, the Guptas lived in a hutment at a slum in Sahayog Nagar here.

"Last night, the small hut, in which, they live, caught fire, possibly due to short circuit, when all of them were asleep. Soon after, fire spread...two children died on the spot," he said.

After hearing the screams of the family members, their neighbours rushed to the spot and took the injured to a local hospital. On the way to the hospital, two other had succumbed to injuries, Suryawanshi added.

At the time of the incident, their father was not at home. Further investigations are on, police said.