Al-KHOBAR, July 30: Sixteen Asian labourers were killed in the early hours of Sunday when a fire broke out in their three-floor residential building in downtown Manama, Bahrain.

The building was located behind Omar Al Khayam Hotel in Al Qudhaybia area, the Bahraini News Agency (BNA) said. The apartment building housed employees of a nearby hotel.

Local media reports indicate that the workers were Indian nationals from Tamil Nadu. It is thought they died of smoke inhalation.

Seven others were reported injured while 196 were rescued, a statement by the Bahraini ministry of interior affairs added.

The fire, possibly caused by an electrical short-circuit, broke out at around 2.30am local time in one of the most densely populated areas of the capital.

Police said about 200 people were believed to be living in the old building.