Three members of a family -- a couple and their child -- died and four others were injured in a fire accident in a residential complex here early on Sunday, police said. The fire broke out around 4 am at a timber depot and spread to the adjoining three-storey building in Kushaiguda area, they said.

Smoke and the blaze spread to the second-floor of the building, where a couple and their son were sleeping in one of the flats. They died due to asphyxiation and burns, police said, adding that four other occupants of the building suffered minor injuries while some of them managed to escape from the premises as the fire engulfed the building.

The deceased were identified as Naresh (37), his 32-year-old wife, and their son aged around seven. Four fire engines were rushed to the spot and the fire was brought under control, the police said.

Based on a preliminary investigation, the official said a short-circuit at the timber depot caused the fire and later a gas cylinder also exploded following the blaze. Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi announced Rs 6 lakh ex-gratia (Rs 2 lakh each) to the kin of the deceased.