Odisha: 3-year-old girl charred to death; 3 family members seriously injured in haystack fire

A three-year-old girl was charred to death and three of her family members were seriously injured in a fire that broke out in a haystack in the backyard of their house in Odisha's Kendrapara district early on Friday, police said.

The incident took place in the coastal village ofOkilopala in the Rajnagar police station area when the family members were sleeping inside a makeshift tent in the back yard of their house to guard the harvested paddy in their farm, a police officer said.

The haystack is suspected to have caught fire from a kerosene lamp, he said.

Neighbors rushed to the rescue of the family members hearing their screams but the girl died on the spot and the remaining members were admitted to the district hospital where their condition is stated to be serious, the officer added.