KISHTWAR: A woman and her two children were charred to death when their house was gutted in a fire in the Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir early Monday, police said.

The deceased were identified as Nazia Begum, her daughter Amina and her son Rizwan, they said. According to police, Khursheed Ahmad's house in Badhat-Jashar village of Drabshalla caught fire around 4.30 am, trapping his wife and two children inside. They were asleep and could not escape in time.

The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. An investigation is underway, police said.

Meanwhile, a fire also damaged a Gujjar Bakerwal boys hostel in Chatroo in Kishtwar district late Sunday night. No casualties were reported, they added.