A man and woman have tragically died following a devastating house fire.
Emergency services were called to reports of a house blaze on Woodland Terrace, in Darlington, in the early hours of Saturday morning at around 4.45am.
Flames had engulfed both the ground floor and first floor as firefighters arrived at the home.
One man was rescued from the blaze and was quickly transported to Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) to be treated for serious injuries. He sadly died later on Saturday.
A woman was also rescued from the property, however she was pronounced dead at the scene.
An investigation has now been launched into the devastating fire to determine its cause, which at the moment remains unclear. Investigators are currently at the scene of the blaze.
A spokesperson for County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service said: "Five appliances from Darlington, Bishop Auckland, Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor attended the incident, along with colleagues from Durham Police and the North East Ambulance Service.
"On arrival, crews were met by a fully developed fire on the ground and first floor of the property.
"Firefighters, wearing breathing apparatus entered the property and proceeded to conduct a search and extinguish the fire using hose reels. One male occupant was rescued from the property by fire service personnel and taken to hospital due to his injuries.
"Unfortunately one female occupant was sadly pronounced dead at the scene. Later that day, the male occupant who was rescued sadly passed away also. Our thoughts are with the families and friends of those affected by this tragic incident."
A spokeswoman for the North East Ambulance Service said: "We dispatched two ambulance crews, one crew from our Hazardous Area Response Team, a clinical team leader and an officer, and requested support from Great North Air Ambulance Service. One patient was taken to the RVI for further treatment."
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