Eluru: Two women were charred to death after a fire broke out at the house of Savithri, a widow, in Santha Market in Velerupadu village at 1.42 a.m on Tuesday. Savithri lived alone at the house. Her sister, Sigapulamma, a resident of Suryapeta district in Telangana, used to visit Velerupadu to help her and again visited her sister’s home.According to police, flames suddenly engulfed the AC sheet houses and spread rapidly, giving the occupants little time to escape. It was suspected that a short circuit caused the fire accident. Within minutes, two cylinders exploded, and the fire spread to the whole house. Unable to escape from the raging fire, Savithri and Sigapulamma were charred to death. The bodies of the deceased were badly burnt.The fire also spread to the adjacent house, which was burnt. However, no casualties were reported as there was no one in the house at the time of the accident.On receiving information, police and fire services personnel rushed to the spot and launched rescue operations. Firefighters later brought the flames under control.Two houses were completely gutted in the fire accident in Velerupadu mandal in Eluru district, police said. The two women trapped inside were unable to come out and died in the blaze. A case was registered, and an investigation was underway to determine the cause of the fire.