PICTURES: Two people jump from burning Karol Bagh hotel in Delhi

New Delhi: A massive fire swept through a four-floor hotel in central Delhi's Karol Bagh in the early hours of Tuesday, killing at least 17 guests, including a child and two people who jumped off the building in a desperate bid to save themselves, officials said.

A fire department official said some used fire extinguishers were found, suggesting people trapped inside tried to douse the flames in a bid to escape. /AFP

The hotel had a canopy on its terrace with chairs and tables laid out, indicating that there was an open restaurant operating there, fire officials said, adding that there was wooden panelling in the rooms inside that could have helped the fire spread. /AFP

A call about the fire was received at 4.35 am and 24 fire tenders were rushed to the spot, a senior Delhi Fire Service official said. Of the 13 bodies, five had been identified -- three from Kerala and two from Myanmar.

There were 53 people in the 45-room hotel, which had a canopy on the terrace housing what appeared to be a restaurant, officials said. /AFP

The blaze,in which 35 people were injured, started in the second floor of the Arpit Palace Hotel in the heart of the national capital around 3.30 am, trapping many guests who were deep in sleep. /AFP