Ghaziabad (UP), Dec 23 (PTI) Two teenage siblings were charred to death after a mosquito repellent stick kept under their bed reportedly sparked a fire in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad district, police said on Monday.
Arun (16) and Vishnu (14), who lived in the Prashant Vihar area of Loni, died in the wee hours of Sunday, they added.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Suryabali Maurya, said the schoolgoing children had complained of mosquito bites on Saturday evening after which their mother Santosh lit a mosquito repellent stick and placed it under their bed.
At around 2.30 am on Sunday, Santosh and her husband Neeraj, who were sleeping in an adjacent room, noticed smoke coming out of their children's room.
As the couple raised an alarm, neighbours rushed to the scene and informed the fire station and police.
However, even before they arrived, the neighbours broke open the door and managed to douse the flames, chief fire officer of Ghaziabad, Rahul Pal, said.
The charred siblings were rushed to the GTB Hospital in Delhi where doctors declared them dead, Maurya said.
Neeraj runs a woolen jacket stitching unit and some woolen materials kept under the children's bed may have triggered the fire after coming contact with the mosquito repellent stick, Pal said.
The couple's elder son Kaushal, who works as a security guard with Delhi Metro, was saved as he had gone for night duty, he added.