An elderly couple died after a fire broke out at their home in southwest Delhi's Safdarjung Enclave on Wednesday morning.

According to the police on Thursday, the deceased have been identified as 80 year old Govind Ram Nagpal and his 78 year old wife Sheela Nagpal. Govind was a retired employee of Kelvinator and his wife was a retired employee of Vidhya Niketan.

According to a Delhi Fire Services (DFS) official, they received a call regarding a fire at 6.02 am from Safdarjung Enclave. The fire was on the second floor of a house. “Three fire tenders were rushed to the site. The fire was in domestic articles and two casualties were found," DFS chief Atul Garg said.

Garg said that the matter was immediately informed to the police and the couple was transferred to a nearby hospital, where doctors pronounced them dead. Vinay Kumar, station officer, DFS, said, "When we entered the house, we found the people in separate rooms. I was told that Sheela Nagpal was bedridden and she could not move out of her room. Her husband was also trapped in another room."

"Within 10 minutes, the fire was brought under control but there was a lot of smoke inside due to which the duo choked to death, apparently," he added.

A police officer said both husband and wife were retired. He said their son Vineet Nagpal resides in the US and their daughter lives in Paschim Vihar.

The officer said crime and Forensic Science Laboratory teams were called in and legal action has been initiated under BNSS section 194 (police to enquire and report on suicide). The bodies have been shifted to a mortuary for post-mortem examination, the officer said.

A neighbour said she spotted smoke coming out of the house while she was out for her morning walk. "I immediately informed the police. Aunty was unwell and she could not walk. The couple mostly stayed indoors," she said.

The police said the residents of the ground floor and the first floor exited the house after spotting the fire on the second floor. The officer said the cause of the fire is suspected to be an electrical short-circuit in the kitchen but a probe was underway.

“The couple lived alone in the house but had not registered themselves in the Delhi Police Senior Citizen cell,” the officer added.