LAHORE: Four television guests were killed during a live Ramadan broadcast in Pakistan on Monday, when fire gutted a studio in the eastern city of Lahore, police said.

An electricity short circuit sparked an inferno at the Koh-e-Noor channel building at 3:46 am as the programme, Sehri Transmission, was being aired.

“At least four local guests, who were participating in a religious programme, were killed and nine others wounded in the fire,” local police official Omar Farooq told AFP.

Transmission was cut when the fire began.

Around 45 people, including crew and channel staff, had been in the studio but most managed to escape through emergency exits, police said.

“Our initial investigation reveals an electricity short-circuit as the chief cause of the fire but we are still investigating,” Farooq said.

TV channel official Kamran Sarfaraz and a local rescue official confirmed the incident.