Nine killed in US house fire

WASHINGTON - Nine people, including six children, were killed in a fire in a multi-storey house Monday in the southern US state of Mississippi, a media report said.

The fire broke out in the small town of Starkville early in the morning, when the victims were apparently still asleep, the Starkville Dispatch reported citing officials.

Mike Chaney, the fire and rescue commander on the scene, said six children were among the dead. A friend of the family told the newspaper that the children were between three and seven years old. The dead were presumed to have included the mother of the children.

The fire broke out about 4.30 a.m. in the two-storey building, similar to those that make up the nearby community. The cause of the fire was under investigation.