A 92-year-old woman died on Wednesday evening after her one-room flat in Owen Road caught fire.

Madam P.Lakshmi, who was wheelchair-bound and lived with a maid, was alone at home at the time.

She had sent the maid to buy Panadol, her daughter-in-law Madam S. Pooranam told The Straits Times.

Ms Nisha Abdul Rahim, 39, who lives in the same block, said that she and a few others tried to save her. "The smoke was so thick, it was hard to see. But I could see fire all round her bed. I didn't hear any sound," the telemarketeer said.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force said that when they arrived, the entire seventh-floor unit was engulfed in flames. They received a call at 5.45pm informing them of the incident at Block 47, Owen Road. They extinguished the fire within half an hour using two water jets.

Members from the nearby Residents' Committee served residents drinks and food as they waited for about five hours before the police cordon was lifted and they could go home. Member of Parliament for the constituency Lui Tuck Yew also visited the scene.

Investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing.