Four children who died in a London house blaze are two sets of twins aged three and four.
The boys were described as "sweet-natured and happy" by neighbours near their home in Collingwood Road, Sutton, it has been reported.
A blaze broke out at the property at shortly before 7pm on Thursday night, sparking screams of terror from horrified residents who immediately rang 999.
Firefighters retrieved four children from the property and performed CPR on them before paramedics arrived at the scene.
However, the youngsters were later pronounced dead in hospital.
Horrifying footage filmed on Thursday night shows an 'intense fire' raging inside the property, with flames coming out of a window.
The walls of the building were covered in black smoke stains and the windows were burnt out in pictures taken on Friday morning.
London Fire Brigade deputy commissioner Richard Mills said that when firefighters arrived at the house the blaze was "very well-developed" and only the children were inside.
He told reporters at the scene: "I can confirm that they are two sets of twins, ages four and ages three."
Asked if anyone else was in the home, he said: "On arrival there were four children in the house."
He also confirmed the victims were all boys.
On the impact of the incident on fire crews, he said: "It's a very traumatic event.
"They (firefighters) attended a very well-developed fire; they got there in under three minutes.
"Second two machines within seven minutes. Entering a building and rescuing life is always a very difficult place to be. The age of the children, the fact they are so young will have a profound impact on them."
The blaze reportedly engulfed the whole of the ground floor.
According to the Evening Standard, one neighbour said: “We saw the flames and just couldn’t believe our eyes. Those poor kids. We were all screaming and calling the emergency services.”
London Fire Brigade was called at 6.55pm and the fire was under control by 8.36pm.
Firefighters from Sutton and surrounding fire stations were at the scene. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
London Fire Commissioner Andy Roe has spoken of his profound sadness after the tragic death of four children at a house fire in Sutton this evening.
He said: “This is an incident that has left everyone numb with profound sadness. My thoughts are with the family and friends of the children, the whole local community and all those who will be affected by this fire.
"Fire crews arrived quickly and located the children inside the property.
"They were brought out of the house and given immediate emergency care. The welfare of our staff involved in this incident is very important to us and all of them will be offered counselling as a priority.”
A statement from the Met Police read "Police were called by the London Fire Brigade shortly after 19:00hrs on Thursday, 16 December to reports of a fire at a residential address on Collingwood Road in Sutton.
"Officers attended along with the London Ambulance Service.
"The fire was extinguished and four children - all believed to be related - were recovered from the address.
"They were treated at the scene before being taken to two south London hospitals. Very sadly, all four were pronounced dead.
"Next of kin are aware and will be provided with specialist support."
There have been no arrests.
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The Metropolitan Police said the four children who died are believed to be related.
A GoFundMe page has now also been set up by a neighbour for the family of the victims.
Jessica West, 17, wrote how she heard “lovely things” about the four youngsters that died and said they were known as “quads” as they “all looked the same".
She wrote: "I’m so disheartened by this and I just want to help as much as I possibly can and I think I’m not the only one too ! Time for the Sutton community to come together and support this family."
