Pune: 2 kids killed as bale of hay catches fire

The father of the two children was out for work. (Representational Photo)

A four-year-old girl and her two-year-old brother were killed and one was seriously injured after bales of hay stocked in a cattleshed in a house near Otur town caught fire on Wednesday evening.

The incident took place at 7.30 pm at the house of farmer Kailas Thakur in Amirghat village near Otur town in Pune district. The siblings have been identified as Kailas Thakur’s children Bhagyashri (4) and Shiva (2). His niece Namrata Damai (4) sustained severe burn injuries and is being treated at a hospital in Pune.

“The father of the two children was out for work. The bales of hay suddenly caught fire. Of the four children playing nearby, three could not escape the intense fire…” said an officer of Otur police station.