A couple died of asphyxiation after a fire broke out at a guesthouse near the inter-state bus terminal in Ludhiana early on Thursday.

Inspector Vijay Kumar, the station house officer (SHO) at division number 5 police station, said fire brigade personnel rushed to Royal Guest House and brought the blaze under control.

All guests, barring the couple, and the hotel staff managed to come out of the building in time and escaped unhurt. “The bodies of the couple were later found in a room. It is suspected that the two died of asphyxiation as smoke had engulfed the area and did not give them a chance to escape,” Vijay Kumar said.

Investigation shows that a short circuit on the second floor sparked off the fire.

The couple had booked the room on the second floor for a night on Wednesday.

The police have rounded up the manager of the guest house for questioning. At the time of the incident, four rooms of the guest house were occupied.

The bodies were sent to the local civil hospital for post-mortem.