Lucknow, Sep 4 - A poverty-stricken man killed his wife and two teenaged daughters in Uttar Pradesh's Azamgarh district Friday, police said.

Awadh Narayan (37), of Debgaon village in the district, attacked his wife Santara (35) and two daughters aged 13 and 15 years with an axe, killing them on the spot, they said.

District police chief Ramit Sharma told IANS over telephone, that after killing the three, Awadh Narayan tried to commit suicide by hitting himself with the axe. He was taken to a hospital with the help of the local residents, and his condition is stated to be critical.

According to police, Awadh Narayan, who worked with local caterers, lost his job some time back and was unable to continue the medical treatment of his wife, who was a heart patient.

Azamgarh is about 300 km from Lucknow.