7 Refugee Children Have Been Tragically Killed In A House Fire In Canada
Tragedy struck early this morning in Nova Scotia on Tuesday, February 19. Seven refugee children were tragically killed in a house fire in Canada. The house was in Halifax and was home to a Syrian refugee family. It is the deadliest house fire Nova Scotia has seen recently, according to CBC News.
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Halifax police confirmed in a news release that seven children died in the house fire. They said that one woman is suffering from non-life-threatening injuries and one man with life-threatening injuries are now in the hospital.
The children were all from the same family that landed in Canada from Syria two years ago, according to CTV News. Their neighbour told CTV News that the family had seven children from as young as three months to 17-years-old.
READ ALSO: Canada Accepted The Highest Amount Of Refugees In The World In 2018 According To New Data
The fire took place at around 1 AM today at Quartz Drive in Spryfield, Halifax. "Multiple calls of a fire in a residence were received early this morning," read the news release from the Halifax Regional Police.
"Police and Fire personnel responded promptly, and encountered heavy fire on the first and second floors of the house". The Halifax police also add that "the fire was contained shortly thereafter".
Here's a photo of the remains of the Halifax house below.
Awful news out of Halifax. House fire with multiple deaths over night. My condolences to the family. My thoughts are with the first responders this morning. Please keep them all in your prayers.😔🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/mPiOyCpHNu
Halifax Fire Department Division Chief Dave Meldrum said in a press conference today that the firefighters quickly fought the fire and contained it in less than one hour despite the brutal weather conditions, according to CBC News. "A firefighter is trained to help and make a difference... a loss of life is very, very hard," he said.
Several people are heartbroken over the incident and have taken to social media to send their condolences, such as city officials, like the Halifax mayor and the Halifax Regional Police, as well as civilians.
You can see their tweets below.
We are saddened by this morning's loss of life. Our thoughts are with family and loved ones, community and first responders at this time.
Following this morning’s fire on Quartz Dr, Police & Fire confirm 7 fatalities. All deceased are believed to be young children from the same family. A woman & man remain in hospital. Our thoughts are with the family & community at this difficult time. https://t.co/qw4WKhUHvg
As we wait for more details on this morning’s tragic fire in Spryfield, our entire municipality is heartbroken and our thoughts are with the loved ones of the family. @hfxfire @hfxgov @TonyMancini_NS #SteveAdams
How horrible😭.Our sincerest condolences to the family and friends of these poor people.And our wishes for full recovery of those who were injured.ON❤
Just awful, my thoughts are with the family/those affected.
My heart goes out to everyone affected with this mass loss. What do these folks most need? Any help? Any items? What can we as a neighbourhood do to show that we are here and want to help ❤️
All those children, lost. My heart is shredded for those parents. 😭
Oh my god... heartbreaking 💔💔💔💔💔💔💔
The Halifax police say that they are still investigating the incident. They send their condolences to the family and all those affected. "Our thoughts are with the family, community and all first responders involved at this difficult time," reads the news release.
*Disclaimer: This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.