Four young children from the same family have died after an apartment fire in Memphis, say officials.
The Memphis Fire Department says that the blaze broke out at a two-storey building in the city on Wednesday afternoon.
Two of the children were four years old, while one was six and another two , according to MFD.
A man who identified himself as the grandfather of the children told WREG that two of the victims were boys and two were girls. He said that the children were at home with their father while their mother ran an errand.
“I’m so hurt and sad that all of them had to go,” the children’s great-grandmother, who was not named, told WKRN. “And this was a sad way for them to go. Four children. I can’t understand it. But God, he knows best.”
A witness told the news station that she and her boyfriend pulled over to try and help when they saw smoke and flames coming from the building.
She said that her boyfriend tried to get into the building but was driven back by the flames.
The father of the children was detained by Memphis Police Department but no charges have been filed, reported WREG.
Fire Fatality @ 469 Alston Ave pic.twitter.com/FAj2INrPHm
— Memphis Fire Department (@MEM_Fire) May 31, 2023
Officials say that 50 firefighters rushed to the scene and that the victims were found in a back bedroom of the apartment.
An investigation into the cause of the fire is underway.
