At least six workers were killed in the fire that broke out in an air cooler manufacturing unit in Hyderabad on Wednesday morning, police said.

There were six workers in the Attapur area factory during the time of the fire.

All six charred bodies have been recovered, a police official said.

The deceased, all from Bihar, were identified as Saddam, Ayub, Shahrukh and Irfan.

The cause of the fire is suspected to be a short-circuit.
 

The owner had locked the factory from outside, making it difficult for the workers to escape, the official said.

"At 5am, six died after air cooler manufacturing store caught fire. We believe that it's due to short circuit. probe on," Shamshabad DCP PV Padmaja said.

Police have arrested factory owner Pramod Kumar.