Howrah, 22 December (H.S.):

Four members of the same family died after a fire broke out in their house late Sunday night in Saudiya village of Jhamtia area of Jaipur in Howrah district. Among the deceased was a ninth-grade student.

The deceased have been identified as 80-year-old Bharu Dalui, 45-year-old Dudhkumar Dalui, 35-year-old Ratna Dalui, and 15-year-old Shampa Dalui. Local residents told on Monday morning that Dudhkumar Dalui also has a son who works as a laborer in another state and was not at home at the time of the incident.

According to local sources, flames suddenly erupted inside the house late Sunday night. The four family members were trapped inside and could not escape. Local residents immediately informed the police, after which fire tenders arrived at the scene. The fire was brought under control after about an hour of effort.

After the fire was extinguished, the bodies of the four family members were recovered from inside the house. The police have sent the bodies for post-mortem. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. The police are investigating the entire incident.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey