Dharashiv | Six members of a family died after a fire broke out in a residence-cum-shop in Maharashtra's Dharashiv district on Monday, police said.

The fire broke out around 2:45 am when the Karande family members were asleep on the first floor of their residence at Yedshi, which also housed a cloth shop, police said.

All of them died due to suffocation, police said. The neighbours made efforts to break into the house after the fire broke out, but their efforts were in vain, they added.

The fire intensified quickly as the shop on the ground floor also had plastic items and oil stock, an official said.

One person has survived and is in a stable condition at present, the official added.

Police identified the deceased as Uttam Karande, Chandrakala Karande, Govind Karande, Gayatri Karande, Jyoti Karande and Siddhi Karande.

The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, but preliminary reports suggest it was due to a 'panati' (small clay oil lamp or diya) lit on the premises, police said.