Children, 3 and 5, killed in central Israel house fire
Parents and baby lightly hurt in Kafr Kassem blaze; police say no suspicion of criminal cause, fire may have been caused by charger which ignited mattress
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Two young children were killed in a house fire in the central Israeli town of Kafr Kassem early Friday.
A man, woman and 11-month-old baby were also hurt in the fire in the predominantly Arab-Israeli town northeast of Tel Aviv. They were taken to a hospital in Petah Tikva and treated for non life-threatening injuries.
Rescuers pulled the two boys out of the apartment unconscious and without a pulse. They were declared dead at the scene.
Media reports later named the boys as five-year-old Mawiya and three-year-old Mohammed Sarsour.
Police said an initial investigation found no evidence of criminal involvement in the blaze, and that it appeared the fire was started by an exploding water boiler.
Later media reports suggested the fire was sparked by an electrical device, possibly a charger, igniting a mattress.
MK Issawi Frej of the Meretz party, who knows the family, told the Ynet news site that there were no words to express the emotions brought on by the tragedy.
“It’s an insurmountable pain that can not be described in words,” he said. “And now they are gone and all we can do is hug the family, stand by it and help it with such a difficult task to continue life after such a terrible tragedy.”
The two were found laying near the entrance to the residential unit, according to the first responder.
“When we got to the scene, relatives were yelling ‘the kids, the kids’ and directed us to go up the stairs to the apartment,” a rescuer with the Magen David Adom emergency service said, according to Hebrew-language media.
An initial report from a rescue official said the pair had died of smoke inhalation.
The Times of Israel Community.