India, Feb. 24 -- Six members of a family, including a pair of twin six-month-old girls, were killed after a fire gutted a three-storey residential building at Lisari Gate in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut late on Monday.

A short circuit is suspected to have triggered the fire on the ground floor of the building, which was used to store garments, while the male members of the family were out for evening prayers. By the time residents upstairs realised what was happening, flames engulfed the lower level and spread to the staircase, blocking escape.Neighbours managed to rescue six people trapped on the first floor using a ladder.

Police and fire brigade teams were unable to access the upper floor because of intense heat, thick smoke, and the narr...