SARAN (Bihar): At least four members of a family, including three children, died of suffocation on Saturday as they slept with a fire lit in a closed room to beat the cold in Bihar's Saran district, police said.

Two others fell unconscious in the incident that occurred early in the morning in the Bhagwan Bazar area, a senior officer said.

The identities of the deceased are yet to be ascertained, but a preliminary investigation suggested that they were family members of an Uttar Pradesh government official.

"They died due to a lack of oxygen caused by a fire lit in the closed room. Four people, including three children, died and two others were found unconscious. The two have been admitted to the nearest hospital. An investigation is on," Saran's Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kumar Ashish, who visited the spot, told reporters.

Forensic experts have also been engaged to assist the investigators, the SSP said.

"The case is being probed from all angles," he added.