MALAPPURAM: Five people sustained burns when their home caught fire in Malappuram. The incident happened at Perumbadappu in Malappuram early Wednesday morning at 1 am. The condition of three who sustained burns is in a critical condition. It is not clear whether the fire was an accident or a suicide attempt.

Those sustained burns are Manikandan of Erattu House, his wife Reena, their children Anirudhan, Nandana and Manikandan's mother Saraswathi. The locals who rushed to the spot hearing the commotion, broke opened the door and took the victims to the hospital. They have been admitted to Thrissur Medical College Hospital.

A major fire broke out at a furniture shop at Marathakkara in Thrissur. The incident happened at 2 am this morning. The fire broke out at the shop owned by Prakash of Ottapalam.

The fire was doused by five units of the fire force from Thrissur and Puthukkad after a great effort. The furniture shop has been completely gutted in the fire. A loss of crores has been estimated.

There was heavy rain at the time of the accident and so the fire did not spread. This averted a major disaster. The authorities said that a detailed investigation will be conducted on the cause of the fire.

A woman and a man were charred to death in the fire that broke out at the agency office of New India Assurance Company at Pappanamcode in Thiruvananthapuram yesterday. The body of Vaishna (34), an employee of the agency and staying at a rented house in Pappanamcode, has been identified.