Suicide: Man along with family perish in inferno

A man who died in a house fire in Northern Italy along with three of his four young daughters is suspected of murder-suicide, news reports said on Friday.

The inferno was suspected to have been perpetrated by the father, because rescuers discovered piled up material at the entrance of the flat, presumably used to start the fire.

The fatal incident occured in Como, a lakeside city about 50 kilometres north of Milan.

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The regional health authority, throughits spokesperson told dpa that a 49-year-old man and three girls aged 3, 7 and 11 died in the fire, whereas the fourth child, aged 5 was in critical condition.

Fire safety officials on the scene said the five-year-old survivor was given a heart massage for almost three hours.

The family, citizens of Morocco were being followed by social services, ANSA said.

The mother of the girls was not home during the fire, as she had recently checked into a clinic for mental health problems.