In a statement, Scotland Yard official Rob Shepherd said the cause of the fire, which broke out around 19:00 local and UTC, remains “unknown” and “will be investigated”.
For its part, the firefighting teams announced that their members found themselves, upon their arrival at the disaster site, in front of “heavy fire” that engulfed the entire ground floor of the building.
It added that its members entered the midst of the fire, equipped with special respirators and equipment designated for such situations, and were able to get the four children out of the house.
Upon their release, the children received first aid at the scene of the disaster, and were then taken to two hospitals in south London, where they were pronounced dead.
The police said that they believed that the dead children belonged to the same family, noting that they had not arrested anyone until now in this case.
About sixty firefighters and eight fire engines participated in putting out the flames.
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