Three children died and their 14-year-old sister was injured in a fire that broke out in their bedroom last Sunday in the Al-Matar district of Madinah, caused by an electrical short circuit, Okaz newspaper reported.

The children's maternal uncle, Ahmed Hamad Al-Azizi, told Okaz that the fire started at around 9 p.m. while the four children were asleep and their parents had gone out to a clinic. The children who died were aged 11, five and two. Neighbors who saw smoke coming from the apartment alerted the Civil Defense, which responded to the scene.

"To God we belong and to Him we shall return," Al-Azizi said.