Four of family die in Punjab fire

KAPURTHALA - A mother and her three children were burnt to death early Wednesday when their house in Dyalpura village in this district caught fire following an electrical short-circuit.

The victims, who were asleep did not realise in time that the house was on fire and were unable to escape the inferno. The blaze was detected by the villagers, but their attempts to douse the flames failed.

Two of the children, aged between 7 and 10 years, were taken out badly burnt and rushed to the civil hospital in Jalandhar, 40 km away, but they succumbed while undergoing treatment.

The head of the family, Kashmiri Lal, was at work when the incident took place.