Six people — including three children — died and five were injured in a house fire early Monday in Newnan, Georgia.
Authorities are working to determine the cause of the deadly blaze in Coweta County, which is about 40 miles southwest of Atlanta.
The Coweta County fire department responded to a call just before 5 a.m. Monday and found more than 50% of the house engulfed in flames. A fire department transcript described the distress on the scene, reporting explosions in the home and people screaming to get out.
Eleven people were in the home and had been accounted for by 5:16 a.m., county officials said in a statement.
Three boys, 6, 12, and 13 years old, were killed. A 36-year-old woman, a 74-year-old woman and a 74-year-old man also died, county officials said.
The names of the victims have not been released. In a statement Monday afternoon, the family thanked the public for an “outpouring of love and prayer.”
“We cannot begin to know where to start in rebuilding,” the statement read. “Right now we are asking for prayers and privacy as we navigate this unimaginable tragedy.”
Five people with “serious injuries” were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. Authorities did not disclose their identities or ages or provide updates about their conditions.
The fire department, the state and county fire marshals and the county sheriff’s office are investigating.