13 killed in fire at clothing factory in Sahibabad, India

GHAZIABAD, India, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- At least 13 people died in India on Friday after a fire broke out in a clothing factory in the city of Ghaziabad's Sahibabad industrial district, near New Delhi, in the Uttar Pradesh state, local officials said.

Ten people died of suffocation and three from burns. At least nine people were injured by the fire, including four who were seriously burned, a local government official told The Indian Express. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Some of the survivors were asleep when the fire began at about 4 a.m. local time. Police said the factory is an illegal establishment.

"They said they didn't know when the fire broke out. They were sleeping in small rooms and 10 died of suffocation," Ghaziabad district magistrate Nidhi Kesarwani told the Hindustan Times.

The fire was reported to officials at about 5:20 a.m. Chief fire officer Akshay Ranjan Sharma said firefighters struggled to reach the building.

"The road is barely 9-10 meters [29-32 feet] wide and is crowded with material and parked vehicles. Still, we put up a ladder and rescued the trapped workers," the fire officer said.