Three Indian students killed in Blaze in Melbourne

By NNN-Bernama

Melbourne : The three students who died in a house fire in Melbourne on Thursday morning were Indians who had been in Australia for about two years, the Australian Associated Press (AAP) news agency reports.


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The three men, aged 22, 24 and 30, were unable to escape the burning weatherboard house in Ballarat Road, Footscray, in Melbourne’s west, despite all of them occupying a front bedroom, police arson squad Sergeant Rod Stormonth told reporters.

A mother, father and their five-year-old daughter were able to escape the fire that broke out about midnight, local time.

“Investigations will be continuing with the arson chemist for some time to work out exactly what happened,” Stormonth said. “The family of three survivors are a little in shock and are with relatives and friends at the moment and police will be speaking with them.”

Stormonth said police had started contacting the victim’s families in India.

It appears the men did not live in the house, but were friends of the family, who lived in an area heavily populated by overseas students, including many Indians.

The family members who escaped the blaze are permanent residents, with the parents aged around 30, Stormonth said, adding: “They woke up to a house full of smoke and smashed a window to escape.”

Fire Brigade Commander Dave Bruce said it was too early to tell what caused the blaze.

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