Nine dead in US house fire, including six children

Nine people died, mostly children, in a fire in a multi-storey house Monday in the southern state of Mississippi, officials told a local newspaper, dpa reported.

The fire broke out in the small town of Starkville early in the morning, when the victims were apparently still asleep, the Starkville Dispatch reported.

Mike Chaney, the fire and rescue commander on the scene, said six children were among the dead. A friend of the family told the newspaper that the children were between 3 and 7 years old. The dead were presumed to have included the mother of the children.

The fire broke out about 4:30 am in the two-storey building, similar to those that make up the nearby community. The cause of the fire was under investigation.