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Fire kills 38, including 16 children, in Madagascar: Police

Monday, 25 July 2016 4:24 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 25 July 2016 4:24 PM ]

File photo shows a firefighter trying to extinguish a fire after it almost consumed a house.

A fire has ripped through a house in central Madagascar, claiming the lives of more than three dozen people, including children.

According to police officials, the incident occurred during a house-warming party in the district of Ikalamavony on Saturday night when fire tore through a thatched roof with the victims trapped inside the house.

The attendances at the party, including several relatives of the house owner, were celebrating the renovation of the house.

"Of the 39 people in the house, 38 were killed, including 16 children," said the regional police spokesman, adding that the fire was an accident.

Reports said the villagers had tried to rescue the people from the blaze ravaging the house but they failed to open the door.

Only one 14-year-old boy managed to escape the inferno by jumping through a window, police said.

The incident is believed to be caused by embers of a fire that had been used earlier to cook food for the guests.

The Republic of Madagascar is an island in the Indian Ocean. The southeast African country was formerly a French colony but gained independence in 1960.

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