Istanbul, Nov 9 (IANS): Nine people, including eight children, were killed in an overnight house fire in Turkey's Bursa city.
Responding to an emergency call made at midnight, firefighters quickly extinguished the fire, only to find the dead bodies of a family caught by the blaze in their sleep, the city governorate announced on Wednesday.
According to the governorate, the deceased belonged to the same Syrian family of six siblings, their mother and two cousins. The children were no more than 11 years old, Xinhua news agency reported.
Initial reports indicated that the cause was a stove heater left on while the family was sleeping, with a more detailed inspection pending, the governor's office stated.
Turkiye is home to about 4 million Syrian refugees who have fled the prolonged civil war in Syria.