Two children were charred to death while playing near a pile of straw under Jhinkpani police station area in West Singhbhum district, about 100 kms away from here on Tuesday morning.

The tragedy struck the victims identified as Rohit Gope (3) and Rajdeep Gope (4), both cousin brothers, in front of their home in Aashura village, about 11 am today.

According to a relative of the victims, the two children were playfully making a house of straw when suddenly the heap caught fire, without anyone taking notice of the mishap.

"A passerby saw the smoke and the two children writhing in pain on the ground. The children were rushed to Sadar Hospital, Chaibasa where the doctors declared them dead," said the relative while talking to The Telegraph Online.

Jhinkpani police station OC, Ravi Ranjan said at the time the two children were playing with the straw-heap, causing the fire mishap, a loudspeaker was on full volume at a marriage ceremony nearby.

"The children must have cried in pain on catching fire, but their cry and scream must have been buried in the high volume of the loudspeaker," said Ranjan, who earlier visited the spot.

"If only the volume of the loudspeaker was low, perhaps the people around them would have heard the children's screams and would have rescued them before it was too late," the OC added

Both the bodies of the victims were sent for autopsy at the Sadar Hospital.