NEW DELHI: A fire in a timber shop burned to death eight people on the outskirts of Mumbai on Saturday.

Police said the victims were workers sleeping in the shop in Bhiwandi area in western Maharashtra state.

Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire, which broke out early Saturday.

The Press Trust of India news agency said a dozen fire engines took hours to extinguish the blaze, which also spread to some adjacent shops and left another three people with burn wounds.

Published in Dawn, December 28th, 2014