Seven children from same family die in Canada house fire

Seven children from the same family lost their lives in a fire that ravaged their home on Canada's Atlantic coast, police said Tuesday.

The victims were Syrian refugees, according to public broadcaster CBC.

"There are seven fatalities resulting from the incident," Halifax police, who are investigating the cause of the blaze, said in a statement.

"All deceased are believed to be young children from the same family. A woman and a man remain in hospital." A neighbour, Danielle Burt, told CBC that she heard an explosion in the middle of the night before seeing the flames ravaging the home.

"I heard a huge bang, and I was laying in bed with my daughter, followed by a woman screaming, so I jumped up out of bed and looked out the back window and all I could see was flames shooting out from the back door going out onto their deck," she said.