Five charred to death in UP hotel fire

Five people, including a child, were charred to death in a major fire that gutted two hotels in the state capital on Tuesday morning.

Four others, who sustained severe burns, were admitted to the hospital, police here said.

The fire, which was reportedly caused due to a short circuit, engulfed the two hotels, which were side by side, in Charbagh locality of the city.

The guests were asleep when the fire broke out.

Fire tenders battled for several hours to extinguish the blaze that completely gutted the two hotels.

A probe has been ordered into the incident, the police said, adding that prima facie it appeared that the hotels had violated the building by-laws.