Basti (UP), Apr 13 (PTI) A woman and her two children died due to asphyxiation in an early morning fire in their home caused by a short circuit in the Harraiya town of the district, police said on Sunday.

They said the fire broke out in Sunil Kesarwani’s three-storey house in the Sarafa Mandi lane around 3.30 am.

Kesarwani’s wife and their two children died due to suffocation, while he has been admitted to a hospital where he is critical, Circle Officer (CO) Harraiya Sanjay Singh said.

Kesarwani has been referred to a higher centre in Ayodhya for treatment.

The CO said Sunil’s wife Puja (30), his daughter Saurabhi (4) and three-month-old son Baba were rushed to the community health centre in Harraiya by their neighbours, where doctors declared them dead.

Dr Nandlal Yadav at the CHC said they died due to suffocation as the room was filled with smoke. There were no burn injuries on their bodies.

The bodies have been sent for post-mortem, police said. PTI COR NAV TIR TIR