Fire kills 4 adults and 6 children in Pakistan

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Six children and four adults, most from the same family, died in Lahore, eastern Pakistan, in a fire that swept through a house before dawn Wednesday, according to police and rescue workers.

Two women, two men and six children between the ages of 6 and 16 were killed, according to Lahore Deputy Inspector General of Police Ali Nasir.

The cause of the crash was not immediately clear, he said, although police investigators suspected that a short circuit had started the fire in the crowded Bhati Gate residential neighborhood.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed regret over the deaths in a statement.

Smoke detectors and other technologies that could improve fire safety in residential buildings are not widely used in Pakistan, and fires in homes and public spaces such as shopping malls are common.