Three boys including twins were killed in a fire at a Buddhist temple in Thailand.

Pannawit and Pannawat Chutimantanon, both 11, and their friend Theerapong Robsri, 9, sneaked out of their dormitory to play inside an abandoned hut while monks were busy during the religious Visakha Bucha day at the Wat Suan Kaew temple in Nonthaburi on May 22 evening.

However, the children were reportedly zapped by an electric leak, which sparked a blaze that engulfed the dilapidated wooden structure.

A monk who saw the inferno called the Bangyai Police Station and firefighters, but it was too late to save the boys, who had been sent to stay at the temple for the summer.

When the flames were extinguished, rescuers found the children's charred bodies lying on the floor still holding hands.

Police Colonel Somphon Wongsrisoontorn, deputy commander of the Nonthaburi Provincial Police, said: 'The forensic police have thoroughly collected everything at the scene and found that the doors and windows were not locked. 

'The cause of the fire is being investigated, but we believe that it might have been caused by a short circuit that electrocuted the three children before sparking the fire that burned them and the building.'

Police Colonel Supachai Traisomboon of the Scientific Crime Detection Center 1 said the boys may have tried to escape, but could not touch the windows and door because of the electric current.

Authorities added that a recent downpour had likely caused the electric leakage that electrified the metal frame of the hut.

Police investigations found that the three boys were playing with two more children, who survived the fire because they went to bed early.

A temple worker named Tum said the temple was providing the boys shelter and education. The youngsters had made a vow to become Buddhist novices there after their schooling.

The twins' divorced mother Kesorn, 42, arrived at the temple on May 23 after learning of the tragic news, and collapsed in grief saying she 'wanted to die with her kids'.

The temple abbott Phra Phayom Kalayano said it was the first such tragedy in the temple's 30 years of caring for children.

He said the caretakers had been busy with the religious holiday, and could not fully supervise the boys.

Authorities said a post-mortem exam was being conducted to determine if the boys had died from electrocution or smoke inhalation.