Three women, all around 20 years old, died and two others suffered injuries when a massive fire broke out in a residential building in Chandigarh on Saturday, police said.
The young women were living on the first floor of the building as paying guests, Superintendent of Police Vineet Kumar said.
Two students jumped from the window of a bathroom to escape the fire. The injured have been admitted to the Government Medical College and Hospital in the city.
The Station Fire Officer Lal Bahadur said they received a call around 4 pm and four fire engines were pressed into service to put out the blaze which is believed to have been caused by a short-circuit.
"There was very low visibility because of smoke and fire," Mr Bahadur said. "Two women were found unconscious in a room and another with burn injuries was found in another room."
With the blaze engulfing the first floor of the house, it was a difficult task for the fire fighters to take out the women out of the room.
More than 20 students lived in the building as paying guests in makeshift rooms. However, at the time of the incident, most of the students were out of the house.
The deceased have been identified as Prakshi (from Kotkapura, Punjab), Riya (Kapurthala, Punjab) and Muskan (Hisar, Haryana), the police said.
With inputs from PTI, IANS
Woman Dies After Being Set On Fire By Boyfriend In Chandigarh: Police Over 400 Patients Evacuated After Fire Breaks Out In Chandigarh Hospital Staying In Hostels, Paying Guest Accommodation To Be Dearer. Here's Why World's Largest Isolated Tribe Makes Rare Appearance In New Footage Barack Obama Wants Joe Biden To Pull Out Of US Presidential Race: Report Why BJP Lost Lok Sabha Polls In Uttar Pradesh - 6 Reasons In Party Report Comedy Legend Bob Newhart Dead At 94: Publicist Israeli Strike Kills Field Commander In Elite Hezbollah Unit: Report Delhi-San Francisco Air India Flight Diverted To Russia After Engine Glitch Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.