At least five people were killed and nearly 15 others sustained burn injuries in a major fire which broke out at a film set in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh's capital Hyderabad on Sunday night, a senior police official said Monday.

"The fire broke out at a makeshift film shooting set at Manikonda area at 8.45 p.m. Sunday and then it gradually spread to a nearby five-storyed building where the five occupants were charred to death and 15 others injured. All the injured have been admitted to a local hospital," the official said.

Several fire engines were pressed into service to rescue all those trapped inside the building and to bring the fire under control.

"It became very difficult for us to carry out the rescue operation. But we managed to enter the apartment and tried to save residents trapped inside the building," Regional Fire Officer G.V. Narayana Rao told the media.

A probe has been ordered into the incident, the police official said.