An elderly woman and one youth belonging to a family were charred to death, while two others sustained severe burn injuries after a fire broke out in a three-storey building in Jharkhand’s Dhanbad district on Tuesday.

The incident reportedly occurred at Vikas Nagar in the Seraidhela police station area on Monday night. Fire tenders later doused the blaze, and other residents of the building were safely rescued.

Injured victims were admitted to Shahid Nirmal Mahto Medical College and Hospital,” said Seraidhela police station in-charge Manjit Kumar said.

The deceased were identified as Chinta Devi (70) and Prashant Kumar (22).

Nobody knows the exact cause of fire in winter though a short circuit is suspected to be the prima facie responsible for it.

The fire may have started when a blanket came into contact with a heater used by the family to keep the room warm. Further investigation is underway,” a police officer thinks.