THANE: A senior citizen and his wife died due to suffocation while their three relatives managed to escape unhurt after a fire broke out in their ground-plus-two-storey residence in Waghbil area of Thane in the wee hours of Saturday, officials said. The family members were fast asleep when the fire started.The deceased have been identified as Abhimanyu Madhvi (60), and his wife Ramabai (55) who lived in the the top floor of the family-owned Madhvi Niwas. The first floor of the house was occupied by Madhvis son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren while their relatives occupied the remaining flats in the structure. Madhvis son was on a pilgrimage when the incident occurred.Locals said that Madhvi was into the business of supplying excavators and also owned land in the area.Inspector (admin) Shashikant Rokade at the Kasarwadavli police station said their preliminary probe revealed the fire may have sparked off from the prayer room on the first floor around 2.30am on Saturday and spread rapidly to other areas. There was dense smoke in the corridors which made it difficult for the elderly couple to escape, Rokade said."We received a distress call following which our teams reached the spot and managed to rescue Madhvis daughter-in-law and his two grandchildren from the first floor. The relatives informed us about the elderly couple trapped upstairs following which our teams rushed to rescue them. We found the couple lying unconscious and rushed them to the nearest hospital where they were declared dead," Yasin Tadvi, in-charge at the regional disaster management cell, Thane, said.The police said they dont suspect foul play and are likely to register an accidental death report in the case. A thorough investigation into the cause of the incident is likely to be undertaken by the fire brigade, officials said.

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