One killed, five of family injured in fire at three-storey house in Indore

An 11-year-old boy died of suffocation and five members of a family were injured after a fire broke out at their house in Madhya Pradesh's Indore city in the wee hours of Saturday, police said.

A blaze erupted around 2.15 am due to a short circuit at the three-storey residence of a scrap dealer, said Anil Gupta, the station house officer of the Juni Indore police station.

He said that scrap materials, including foam and sponge, were stored in the front portion of the house, while the family lived in the rear.

''The flames spread rapidly because of the foam and sponge, enveloping the entire building and filling it with thick black smoke,'' Gupta told PTI.

He said that the narrow house had only one entrance and no outlet for the smoke.

''Six members of a family living on the first floor fell unconscious due to suffocation, though there were no burn injuries,'' he added.

Police and fire personnel brought out the occupants and took them to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared an 11-year-old boy dead, the official said.

He said that the other five members — a couple, their two daughters and a son — were undergoing treatment, and four of them were on life support.

Rescuers also brought to safety another family of four living on the second floor by climbing a tree, Gupta said, adding that the incident will be probed.