A 53-year-old man died of burns and his wife sustained serious burn injuries, as their hut in Thoppapalayam, on the outskirts, caught fire in the early hours of today.

Selvaraj and his wife Marathal, 45, were asleep when the hut caught fire, police said.

Hearing screams, neighbours rushed to their rescue and took them to the government hospital.

However, Selavaraj succumbed to burns in the morning. Investigations are on to ascertain the cause of the fire.