Two children in critical condition after East Jerusalem blaze

Two young siblings were fighting for their lives after a blaze in an East Jerusalem apartment Tuesday.

According to police, a 5-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl were rushed to Hadassah Hospital Mount Scopus in critical condition.

The hospital said that the children were suffering from smoke inhalation and receiving artificial respiration.

The children’s mother and grandfather were lightly injured by smoke inhalation and were also taken to the hospital, a hospital spokesperson said.

The fire broke out in a first-floor apartment in a three-story building in the neighborhood of Beit Hanina in the north of Jerusalem.

Police were first to arrive at the scene and were told by the mother that her two children were still inside the apartment.

“The long minutes while we searched the dark, smoky apartment to locate the children felt like an eternity,” said Police Sgt. Oshri Maman, “but I wouldn’t leave until I had found them.”

The children were taken from the apartment unconscious.

Four crews of firefighters were working to control the fire and along with police have begun investigating the cause of the blaze.

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