A child has died and three other people are critically injured after a devastating house fire in Toowoomba, Queensland overnight, which police are now investigating.
Emergency services were called to Merrit Street in the suburb of Harristown around 12.30am on Wednesday morning following reports that a property was on fire.
Firefighters found the home fully engulfed in flames when they arrived and initial investigations by police have indicated that six people were able to escape the blaze.
Queensland Police have confirmed a body has been located inside the house and that formal investigations are ongoing.
The Courier Mail has reported that the victim was a child.
The survivors of the horror incident include four children, a 34-year-old man, and a 36-year-old woman.
An earlier police statement had said a fifth child was unaccounted for.
Two children and the woman have been transported to Toowoomba Hospital with critical injuries and the man has also been hospitalised with serious injuries.
The fire has since been extinguished and a crime scene has been set up at the property.
Investigations to determine the cause of the fire are continuing and police are urging anyone with information or relevant footage to come forward.
Information can be provided to police by contacting Policelink at www.police.qld.gov.au/reporting or by calling 131 444.
Darling Downs District Detective Inspector Renee Garske spoke to media on Wednesday and called the fire a “tragic event”.
“We are deeply saddened by this incident,” Detective Inspector Garske said.
Police have forensic personnel at the scene to assist with investigations, and the homicide investigation unit has been notified, she said.
