India hotel blaze kills at least 10

Police say they suspect an electrical fault triggered the blaze early in the morning

LUCKNOW: A fire in a hotel in a northern Indian town on Friday killed at least 10 people after breaking out overnight when guests were asleep, officials said.

Fire fighters battled for more than an hour to bring the blaze under control after it erupted in a restaurant and quickly spread to the adjoining Goyal Hotel in the state of Uttar Pradesh, an official said.

"Eight of the 10 bodies have been identified. We are not sure about the exact count as of now," Amrit Tripathi, magistrate of Pratapgarh town and surrounding district, also told AFP.

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Thirteen guests suffered burns and other injuries and were taken to various hospitals in the area, he said.

A police officer said they suspect an electrical fault triggered the blaze early in the morning and hit the four-storey hotel in Pratapgarh, 150 kilometres (93 miles) from state capital Lucknow.

The state government announced 200,000 rupees ($3,100) in compensation for each of those killed and 50,000 rupees ($780) for those injured in the blaze.