Three children die in Sydney, Australia, in a fire that is being investigated as a domestic homicide

7 Jul. () –

Three children, including a ten-month-old, died early Sunday morning as a result of a fire that burned down a house in Sydney, Australia, in an incident that is being investigated as homicide and for which a man has already been arrested.

At around 1 a.m. local time, emergency services received a call for a fire to be called to a house in Lalor Park, about 35 kilometres west of Sydney city centre, Australian police said in a statement.

“On arrival of emergency services, a nine-year-old girl and three boys aged eleven, seven and six were treated on scene by NSW Ambulance paramedics and taken to Westmead Hospital in a stable condition,” the statement said, confirming that a 29-year-old woman was taken to hospital for smoke inhalation.

Two other children aged two and four were not so lucky. They died shortly afterwards at Westmead Hospital, where they were admitted in a critical condition after being treated at the scene by ambulance paramedics.

A third child was found dead by Fire and Rescue NSW after extinguishing the blaze. None of the three fatalities have yet been formally identified, police said.

POSSIBLE DOMESTIC HOMICIDE

A 28-year-old man who tried to prevent police from entering the property has been arrested and is being treated in hospital for injuries related to the fire, New South Wales Police Acting Superintendent Jason Pietruszka told ABC News.

“Police have launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident. A report will be prepared for the information of the coroner,” the statement concluded.

In this regard, Pietruszka added that the incident is being investigated as a crime of domestic violence and revealed that there is no record of any previous charges against the suspect.

“The police have no knowledge of him. We are treating this as a domestic homicide, a multiple homicide,” he said.