A raging fire charred to death a two-year-old toddler and a 65- year- old woman, besides reducing to ashes over 100 huts in a slum area of West Bengal's Malda District late on Wednesday.
Eyewitnesses said the fire broke out on Wednesday afternoon in Bidyananpure Village of Malda District and soon spread to huts located in the slum area.
Many dwellers were rendered homeless after their thatched homes were engulfed by the flames. It took several hours for the fire to be doused.
Block Development Officer Biplab Roy said: "We are trying to do everything we can to bring the situation under control. We can confirm the deaths of two people, including a two-year-old child, whose name is Din Mohmmad."
Victims with severe burn injuries are being treated at a local hospital.
The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
