KMOV
The scene of a fire in East St. Louis, Illinois, is seen in this screengrab taken from footage by CNN affiliate KMOV on Friday, August 6, 2021.
CNN
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Five children between the ages of two and 9 were killed in a fire early Friday morning in East St. Louis, Illinois, in accordance with fire officers.
The fire broke out at an house constructing at 29th and State streets shortly earlier than 3 a.m. native time Friday, CNN affiliate KMOV reported.
Fire Chief Jason Blackmon confirmed 5 children died, telling CNN that firefighters were in a position to rescue three earlier than they died of smoke inhalation. Two children died contained in the construction, two in an ambulance, and one on the way in which to the hospital, Blackmon mentioned.
Multiple households lived in the constructing, however KMOV reported that the entire children were from the identical household.
“They are blameless in this. They’re just kids. It’s tough,” Assistant Fire Chief George McClellan informed the station.
The mom had left dwelling to choose somebody up, McClellan mentioned. When she returned, she tried to enter the burning constructing a number of instances to rescue the children.
No one else was harm in the fire, KMOV reported. Fire officers mentioned the trigger stays underneath investigation.
CNN’s Kay Jones contributed to this report.