Mother, 3 children killed in blaze near Jerusalem

Fire apparently broke out when a heater at the four victims' home in Ein Nakuba burst into flames

Illustrative photo of firefighters, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2016. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

A fire that broke out in the village of Ein Nakuba near Jerusalem Saturday killed a woman, 36, and her three children, aged 3, 6 and 10.

According to investigators at the scene, the blaze likely began after a heater in Hanadi Jabar’s home burst into flames. Police initially suspected arson could be the cause of the fire, but later ruled out the possibility.

“This is a difficult and shocking event,” said Magen David Adom paramedic Israel Weingarten, one of the first responders to arrive at the scene.

“When we got there we saw a smoke-filled private home. Firefighters pulled out the four victims, a woman and three children. They were unconscious, not breathing and without a pulse, covered in soot.

“We gave them medical treatment and we performed CPR, but at the end we had to [call it].”

On Friday, a couple were seriously injured in a fire apparently caused by a gas explosion in a residential building in Jerusalem’s Ramot neighborhood. An MDA team evacuated the two from the building and rushed them to the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in the city for treatment. The two suffered from extensive burns all over their bodies, according to Ynet.

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