(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Police have urged a murder suspect to hand himself in after three children died and a woman and three-year-old were left seriously ill in hospital after a suspected arson attack in Salford.
Four fire engines were called to a street in Worsley, Greater Manchester, after the fire broke out in the mid-terraced house at about 5am yesterday.
Greater Manchester police confirmed they were treating the blaze as suspicious, and that a murder investigation was under way.
Police said a 14-year-old girl was declared dead at the scene and an eight-year-old boy and seven-year-old girl died in hospital. The three-year-old girl was described as being in a critical condition, while the woman, 35, who is understood to be the mother of the children, was in a serious condition.
Police did not name the individual they want to trace in connection with the blaze, but said: 'He knows who he is and he should give himself up.
Police confirmed there were seven people in the house when the fire broke out and that two 16-year-old boys had escaped.
They said there was 'an active manhunt for a suspect.
Chief superintendent Wayne Miller, of Greater Manchester police, said: 'The deaths of these three children is heart-breaking. Our thoughts are with their loved ones and the little girl and her mum who are in hospital fighting for their lives.
He added: 'I want to describe what this incident is. It's the murder, using fire, of three children and we have a three-year-old girl fighting for her life who is seriously ill.
'This will devastate this family forever and words cannot describe what they are going through. We need the public's help to find the answers the family deserve.
The Manchester fire service tweeted: 'Sadly it's been confirmed that three children have died following yesterday morning's house fire in Worsley, another child and a woman are in hospital in a very serious condition. This is a truly tragic incident and all our thoughts go out to the family.
The Manchester Evening News reported that police were investigating the possibility that a flammable liquid was poured through the letterbox of the house. It also reported that police had been called to a separate incident at the house at about 2am. It is understood that emergency crews were responding to reports of a wheelie bin at the home being set on fire.
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