Two people died of suffocation after a massive fire broke out in a furniture godown in west Delhi's Kirti Nagar area in the early hours of Sunday.

According to the police, the two were sleeping in a room on the godown's terrace, where the fire started. The deceased have been identified as 45 years old Atul Rai, a resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Azamgarh, and 65 years old Nand Kishor, a resident of Bihar’s Gaya.

A police officer stated that an incident of fire was reported in Kirti Nagar police was received around 4:30 am on Sundat, regarding fire on the roofs of buildings numbered 2/76/1 and 2/76/2 at WHS Kirti Nagar. “Total seven fire-tenders were called on the spot to extinguish the fire,” he added.

A Delhi Fire Services (DFS) official said, "A call regarding the fire in the furniture godown was received around 4.25 am on Sunday and six fire tenders were rushed to the spot. Two people were rescued and rushed to a nearby hospital.”

The police officer said that the fire broke out on the terrace of the building.

"The premises were checked thoroughly and a room on the terrace was found locked from inside.

Teams broke open the door and found two people inside. They were rushed to a hospital, where they were declared dead," a police statement said.

The two men including Rai was a labourer, and Dube was a rickshaw puller, were declared dead at the hospital. Rai worked at the godown and also slept there. Prima facie, they died of suffocation, it said.

The forensics team has been called in to ascertain the cause of the fire. Legal action will be initiated accordingly, police said.