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Five killed in Sheffield house fire Five killed in Sheffield house fire
(35 minutes later)
Five people, believed to include a baby and two children, have been killed in a house fire in Sheffield. 
Five people, believed to include a baby and two children, have been killed in a house fire in Sheffield.

The blaze broke out around midnight in a three-storey Victorian terraced house in Wake Road, in the south-western Sharrow district. The blaze broke out around midnight in a three-storey Victorian terraced house in Wake Road, in the south-western Sharrow district. 

Ambulances and four fire engines and were called to the scene when the alarm was raised at 12.15am. An aerial ladder was used to tackle what a spokesman for South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue described as a “severe” fire. Ambulances and four fire engines and were called to the scene when the alarm was raised at 12.15am. An aerial ladder was used to tackle what a spokesman for South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue described as a “severe” fire. 

The ages and identities of the five people who died have not been released. The fire service confirmed that two women and three “young” children died. It is believed they were all from the same family. The ages and identities of the five people who died have not been released. The fire service confirmed that two women and three “young” children died.

Ishfaq Hussein Kayani, the cousin of one of the women who died, said a nine-week-old girl was among the victims, and the other children were aged nine and seven. It is believed the women who died were the children’s aunt, Shabina Begum, 20, and her 54-year old mother, Anum Parvail.
Kayani said his cousin was 54 and the other woman who died was her 20-year-old daughter. “It’s just a huge tragedy. Words cannot describe how sad this is. It’s a tragedy beyond description.” 
Ishfaq Hussain Kayani, Parvail’s cousin, said a nine-week-old girl was among the victims. He named the other victims as nine-year-old Adhyan Nazim and his seven-year-old brother Amaan Nazim.

By dawn Wake Road was sealed off as fire investigators and forensic police officers worked at the house. Kayani said: “It’s just a huge tragedy. Words cannot describe how sad this is. It’s a tragedy beyond description.” 

Police said they were keeping an open mind as to how the fire started. A South Yorkshire police spokesman said: “At this stage we are not able to confirm where in the house the fire broke out or if anyone else was injured.” Speaking to reporters at the scene he said the children’s parents were in shock. “They can hardly utter a word. “I’ve been with the family. It’s so sad. A couple of hours ago the whole family was leading their normal life – quite prosperous, happy. Just in a matter of minutes the whole family has been destroyed.”

A short statement from South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue added: “An investigation has commenced, involving police and fire officers, to establish the cause of the fire.” By dawn Wake Road was sealed off as fire investigators and forensic police officers worked at the house.

Police said they were keeping an open mind as to how the fire started. A South Yorkshire police spokesman said: “At this stage we are not able to confirm where in the house the fire broke out or if anyone else was injured.”

A short statement from South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue added: “An investigation has commenced, involving police and fire officers, to establish the cause of the fire.”

Peter Holland, the government’s chief fire and rescue adviser, described the incident as a “terrible tragedy”.
 Writing on Twitter he said: “Fires with fatalities on scale of last night’s incident in Sheffield are rare, making them v[ery] shocking when they occur.”