Fire kills five of a family

At least five members of a family were killed and more than 300 houses were gutted in a devastating fire that engulfed a remote village in Bihar, police said today.

Police said fire broke out in a house at Mekara village in Nalanda district at around 12 noon and soon spread to almost the entire village, killing five members of a family.

The victims included three women and two children aged 4 and 3 who could not escape the scene.

An official report said more than 1600 incidents of fire have been reported in the last three months in Bihar.