14 family members die in blaze on way back from wedding

Fourteen members of a family returning from a wedding were burned to death when the minivan they were travelling in caught fire in northern India, police said. The dead include 10 children.

Rafiq Ahmad, a local police officer in Uttar Pradesh state, said today that the vehicle was fuelled by a cylinder of cooking gas that caught fire due to a short circuit.

Mr Ahmad said the cylinder likely exploded, turning the minivan into a ball of fire and trapping the passengers inside.

The accident took place late last night near Shamli, a town about 220 miles south west of state capital Lucknow.

Mr Ahmad said the van was carrying 20 passengers and was returning after attending a marriage ceremony. The six surviving passengers were injured.