House fire kills 7 members of Pakistan family

Islamabad  — Police say five children and their parents died in a house fire believed to have been caused by an electrical short-circuit.

Local police official Mohammad Afzal says the fire broke out early Wednesday in an upscale neighbourhood of Rawalpindi, a garrison city near the capital, Islamabad. He says firefighters extinguished the blaze and officers are investigating the incident.

TV footage showed charred furniture and burned out rooms.

Fires at commercial buildings and homes kill or wound dozens of people every year in Pakistan, where smoke detectors are rare.