Two members of Ludhiana family die in fire

Ludhiana, Sep 24 (PTI) A woman and her grandson were killed when a massive fire broke out at a hosiery factory-cum-residence near Bharat Nagar Chowk petrol pump here on Wednesday, police said.

As soon as the fire broke out, most family members were evacuated, but the two -- Sudha Chopra (70) and her grandson Garav (16) --remained trapped inside and died of asphyxiation due to smoke.

Preliminary reports suggested the fire was caused by a short circuit.

Locals tried to douse the flames initially but the situation worsened, prompting an immediate call to the fire brigade.

Fire officials evacuated nearby houses as a precautionary measure.

The house had hosiery thread material stored on the ground floor.

Owner Rajat Chopra said the blaze initially broke out in the thread stock and quickly engulfed the entire floor.

The fire soon reached the first floor, but firefighters managed to bring the situation under control. PTI COR CHS DV DV