A mother and her seven children have died in a house fire in northern France.
The blaze ripped through the property just after midnight on Monday in the town of Charly-sur-Marne, around 50 miles east of Paris.
The mother and her children – all aged between two to 14 – were reportedly asleep when the fire broke out. The children included five girls and two boys.
The husband survived and has been taken to hospital with severe burns.
Local official Julien Morino-Ros said the fire was sparked by a malfunctioning clothes dryer on the ground floor of the house.
Around 80 firefighters and 48 vehicles were at the scene to tackle the blaze, which was extinguished after several hours.
A neighbouring property was damaged and several people from nearby houses were evacuated.
