House Fire Charleston, West Virginia: Six Children Among the 8 Dead In US House Fire

Six children who were staying at a house for a slumber party in the US were among eight people killed when a fire ripped through the family home while they slept.

A seventh child is fighting for their life after the blaze in Charleston, West Virginia, on Saturday.

The dead children ranged in age from 18 months to eight years and are all believed to be related.

Charleston mayor Danny Jones said the blaze at the two-storey home was the deadliest in the city for more than 60 years.

Mr Jones said: "I walked up there and caught a glimpse of some fatalities and it's something that's hard to grasp. The fact that there are dead children, it's unimaginable."

The cause is being investigated, but the flames are believed to have started on the first floor.

Mr Jones told reporters the house had one working smoke detector on the bottom floor, but it was on a counter and was not properly mounted to a ceiling.

Among the two adults killed were a 26-year-old woman, named as Alisha Carter-Camp, who had just been celebrating her birthday, reports said. Read More