SYDNEY - Three children, including a 10-month-old, were killed after fire ripped through a house in Sydney early on July 7 in an incident Australian police said they were treating as a homicide.
Emergency services were called to the property in Lalor Park, about 35km west of Sydney's city centre, at around 1am local time (11pm on July 6, Singapore time), police said in a statement.
Two boys, aged two and four, were treated at the scene but died shortly after being taken to the hospital, while a 10-month-old girl was found dead after the fire was extinguished, police said.
A 28-year-old man who frustrated police attempts to get into the property was arrested and was being treated for fire-related injuries at the hospital under police guard, they said.
Homicide squad detectives have taken control of the investigation and are treating it as a "domestic-related homicide", said the homicide squad commander, Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty.
"At this stage, it does appear the 28-year-old man is responsible for multiple deaths of young lives that have been tragically taken away," Supt Doherty told a press conference.
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Four other children, aged from six to 11, were in stable condition in hospital, as well as the mother of the children, a 29-year-old who was being treated for smoke inhalation, police said.
