SYDNEY, Mar 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) – A fire at a boarding house in Sydney, killed three people with one in a critical condition. The police have deemed the cause of the fire as “suspicious.”
Firefighters were called to a two-level boarding house in Newtown, a suburb in Sydney’s inner west, this morning. Firefighters said it took about two hours to get the blaze under control.
A body was recovered from the rubble in the morning with two more uncovered in the afternoon.
Police said, there were also “serious concerns” for a fourth person, who escaped the fire, and is in a “crucial condition” at central Sydney hospital.
In a statement, NSW Police Assistant Commissioner, Peter Cotter said, the incident was being investigated as a murder.
“We are treating this as suspicious – it was an explosion, the flames took hold extremely quickly,” he said.
“It would be fair to say some type of accelerant was used – we are treating this as a murder, we are treating this as a maliciously lit fire.”
Residents in surrounding buildings have been evacuated due to instability in the building, after the fire.
