House fire kills 39 people including 17 kids after blaze rips through building during party
The victims were trapped inside the house in the town of Ambalavato, rural centre of Madagascar, on Saturday night
A HOUSE fire has killed 39 people - including 17 kids - after it raged through a party on Saturday.
The blaze ripped through a house in Ambalavato village in Madagascar leaving the property almost completely destroyed.
A 14-year-old boy managed to escape the devastation by jumping out the window, but later died from his injuries in hospital.
Villagers scrambled to rescue the people trapped inside but could not open the door as they were reportedly collapsed against it - inadvertently barricading themselves in.
Fire crews rushed to the scene, but flames took over the entire top floor and obliterated the roof.
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Police spokesman Anthony Rakotoarison said: "Thirty nine people were killed by the fire - 38 of them died on Saturday, another victim passed away today."
It is believed the fire in the Ikalamavony district was caused by embers of a fire that had been used earlier to cook food for the guests.
Rakotoarison said the fire broke out at around 7pm at a compound where a party to celebrate the completion of a house renovation was underway.
He added that the fire started in a straw hut near a fireplace where meals for the occasion were prepared, before the blaze spread to the main house.
There is no fire station near the location of the accident in the deeply rural and isolated area which is 500km from the country's capital Antananarivo.