An explosion in an electric car being charged outside a house in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore on Wednesday triggered a fire that killed eight members of a family, including two children, and injured four others, The Hindu reported.

The incident took place in Tilak Nagar’s Brajeshwari Annex Colony around 4 am, the newspaper quoted the police as saying. Twelve persons were asleep in the house at the time, police added.

Indore Zone 3 Deputy Commissioner Kumar Prateek said the fire began with a suspected short circuit in the car and quickly spread to the house’s wiring and a sports bike. The blaze intensified after two of several liquefied petroleum gas cylinders stored inside the house exploded.

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“The rescue teams had a tough time getting in as the doors fitted with electronic locks got jammed due to a malfunction,” the newspaper quoted Prateek as saying.

The authorities said that the deaths were caused primarily by smoke inhalation, The Times of India reported.

The 2.5-hour rescue operation involved personnel from the police, fire department and the State Disaster Emergency Response Force.

The deceased have been identified as Tanmay (7), Rashi Sethia (12), Simran Pugalia (30), Tinu (35), Suman Sethia (60), Vijay Sethia (65), Chhotu Sethia (22) and house owner Manoj Pugalia (65).

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Six of those who died were from Bihar’s Kishanganj district and had come to Indore to visit relatives, The Hindu reported.

State Urban Development and Housing Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya said that an expert committee will conduct an investigation and develop a standard operating procedure for electric vehicle charging to prevent similar incidents, The Times of India reported.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex gratia payment of Rs 2 lakh for the next of kin of each deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured.