Five children charred to death as house catches fire

Five siblings were charred to death when their house caught fire at Rabibhag East village in the district.

Five siblings were charred to death when their house caught fire at Rabibhag East village in the district early on Saturday.

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Police said the villagers were woken up at 3 am when they heard cries for help from their neighbour's house.

They found leaping flames coming out of Ataul Malik's house. While three of Malik's daughters and two sons were burnt alive, his wife and two other children sustained over 50 per cent burns, police said.

The victims were aged between three and 11 years.

They were rushed to Uluberia General Hospital from where they were shifted to a Kolkata hospital.

While the police refused to comment on the cause of the fire, locals said that kerosene from a lamp might have spilled over leading to the fire.

The family was sleeping on hay stacks piled on the floor.