Police are investigating after two young children died in a house fire in Wolverhampton on Friday evening.
Officers from West Midlands Police were called to the fire in Mason Street at about 20:30 BST along with colleagues from West Midlands Fire Service and West Midlands Ambulance Service.
Firefighters entered the property and rescued the children, but they could not be saved and were pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Two other children and a woman were already out of the house before emergency services arrived. They were checked over by ambulance staff but did not need hospital treatment.
Neighbours spoke of their distress, with Hardeep Singh Haire saying: "Everybody will be sad, because there shouldn't be anything happening to any family like this. "
Talwinder Kaur said: "It's very sad ... I am a mother, I can feel the pain. It's hard."
The fire service said firefighters had immediately provided emergency care to the two young children after rescuing them from the property, which is between the Blakenall and Graiseley areas of the city.
Medics worked "rapidly to administer advanced life support to both children but tragically they were both confirmed dead a short time later", West Midlands Ambulance Service said.
West Midlands Police said they had cordoned off the scene as officers work to establish the exact circumstances of the fire.
The cordon is expected to remain in place for some time at the property, which was extensively damaged, as inquiries continue.
"Our thoughts are with the children's loved ones and all those impacted by this heartbreaking incident," a force spokesperson said.
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