Published :
Updated :
For all latest news, follow The Financial Express Google News channel.
At least five members of a family have been killed on Saturday after a devastating fire broke out at a house in India's western state of Rajasthan, police said.
A police official said, "A massive fire gutted the house at Vidhyanagar locality in Jaipur early Saturday at around 4:00 am."
Locals said they heard a sound of cylinder blast, which probably could have triggered the fire.
Police and fire service officials reached the spot soon after being informed by locals, reports Xinhua news agency.
"Preliminary investigations reveal the fire was triggered due to the blast of domestic gas cylinder," a police official said. "We assume there was leak in the gas cylinder and some of the inmates might have switched on the light or power plug, causing the spark to trigger fire and blast in house."
According to officials, it took around three hours for the firefighters to contain the fire from spreading in adjacent area.
Chances of fire in Indian villages and cites are usually high as people sometimes ignore safety standards and store fuel and combustible materials in a haphazard manner.