A house fire killed a family of seven including three children in India on Sunday.

Footage shows the the inferno engulfing a double-storey shop which doubled as a residential building in Sidharth Colony, Chembur, Mumbai, on October 6.

Officials confirmed that the ground floor was used as a shop while the upper floor served as a home.

Authorities said the electrical wiring in the ground-floor shop started the blaze. The fire spread rapidly, consuming furniture and complicating firefighting efforts.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Hemraj Singh Rajput, from Zone 6, said: 'We received a call at around 6 am. The fire broke out in a G+2 building, with the ground floor being used as a shop and the upper floors as residential space. Tragically, seven people have lost their lives, and two, who were in the shop, managed to escape.'

The Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) deployed two Jumbo Tankers, four fire engines, one Major Fire Tender (MFT), one Divisional Fire Officer (DFO), one Additional Divisional Fire Officer (ADFO), and two Station Officers.

An Advanced Water Tanker Tender (AWTT) was also dispatched. A team of 10 workers, an assistant commissioner, an assistant engineer, and other BMC representatives were actively involved in firefighting and rescue operations.

All victims were pronounced dead upon arrival at Rajawadi Hospital, including three children.

Authorities are investigating the exact cause of the fire, with early indications suggesting an electrical short circuit may have caused it.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde visited the scene of the tragedy later in the day and announced an ex-gratia of 5 lakh INR (4,535 GBP) to the families of the deceased.

He said: 'This is an extremely unfortunate incident. A high-level inquiry has been ordered, and we will review preventive measures to ensure such incidents do not happen again.'

(1 INR = 0.0091 GBP)