Puri:
A 23-year-old German tourist died when a fire broke out in a private guest house at Chakratirtha road in Puri in Odisha, police said today.
The deceased identified as Julian, was sleeping in a room in the guest house when a fire broke out last night, Sea Beach police station Inspector Prabhas Kumar Sahu said.
Julian, who was staying at the guest house since April 3, had suffered over 70 per cent burns, he said adding that the hotel staff noticed smoke coming from his room which was locked from inside.
After getting the information, police rushed to the spot and broke open the door. The room was sealed after recovery of the body, he said.
It is suspected that the fire might have started from a cigarette butt, Mr Sahu said adding that drugs and a bottle of cough syrup with high alcohol content was also recovered from the room.
Thorough investigation was in progress to ascertain the exact cause of the death, Mr Sahu said. The body was sent for post-mortem.
The German diplomatic mission was informed about the incident and a case of unnatural death registered, police said.