An Illinois apartment fire killed five children early Friday.
East St. Louis Fire Department crews responded to a fire that broke out in an apartment building at around 3:45 a.m., KTVI-TV reports. The mother of the five children inside the building was gone when the fire started, and she unsuccessfully tried to go back in to rescue the young ones.
Once firefighters were arrived, they were able to locate the children, whose ages ranged from 2 to 9 years old. Three were found in the kitchen, and two were in the bedroom.
Four of the children were pronounced dead at the scene, and the fifth child died on the way to the hospital. Two adults—including the mother—were outside the burning apartment when crews arrived.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
