NEW DELHI: At least seven people were killed when a fire tore through a slum on Sunday in the Indian capital New Delhi, the fire department said.

Ten others were injured as the inferno engulfed hundreds of make-shift huts in the overcrowded old city commercial district, city fire department chief R.C. Sharma told reporters.

“Seven people were charred to death and almost all the 300 huts completely gutted in the fire,” Sharma said. The cause of the blaze was not immediately known, but Sharma said sparks from an open stove lit to ward off the bitter winter cold may have been to blame.—AFP