Seven children from same family die in Canada house fire

By Agence France-Presse

Seven children from a family said to be Syrian refugees lost their lives early Tuesday in a fire that swept through their house in the Canadian city of Halifax, police said.

“There are seven fatalities resulting from the incident,” police in the Atlantic seaboard city said.

A house where an early morning fatal fire killed seven children from the same family in the community of Spryfield is seen in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, February 19, 2019. (REUTERS/Ted Pritchard / MANILA BULLETIN)

“All deceased are believed to be young children from the same family. A woman and a man remain in hospital.”

At a press conference, police said the man had “life-threatening” injuries.

Public broadcaster CBC said the victims were Syrian refugees.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

A neighbor, Danielle Burt, told CBC that she heard an explosion in the middle of the night before seeing the flames ravaging the home.

“I heard a huge bang, and I was laying in bed with my daughter, followed by a woman screaming, so I jumped up out of bed and looked out the back window and all I could see was flames shooting out from the back door going out onto their deck,” she said.

Firefighters responded at 12:40 am.

In a Twitter message, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his “heart goes out to the survivors of this horrible fire … and loved ones who are mourning this tremendous loss.

“Words fail when children are taken from us too soon, especially in circumstances like this.”