Couple die in fire

A middle-aged couple suffocated to death and three members of the family were injured Saturday when a fire erupted in their sixth floor apartment in a high-rise in Prahaladnagar locality here, police said.

The fire broke out in the wee hours in the flat of Achal Shah (50) in the 11-storey building, a police official said.

The cause of the fire was not known immediately, said Anandnagar police station inspector S J Baloch.

"All five members of the family were found unconscious and were rushed to a private hospital early Saturday, where two of them were declared dead. They might have died of suffocation," said Baloch.

The deceased are identified as Shah and his wife Premilaben Shah (49).

Achal Shah was working in the marketing department of a English newspaper in the city.

Baloch said three members of the family, including two teenage daughters of the deceased couple and their grandmother Snehlataben (60) are admitted in a private hospital.

He said the bodies of the deceased have been sent to VS Hospital for postmortem.