Husband and wife die in house fire

Gardaí were today investigating the cause of a house fire in which a husband and wife were killed in Co Longford.

The couple’s children, aged 19, 17 and nine, escaped from the house after waking to the smell of smoke shortly before 6am this morning.

However their parents, who were in their mid 40s, were asleep in an upstairs bedroom of the house in Forgney and died in the blaze.

Fire-fighters extinguished the fire but could not save the couple.

The bodies were taken to Mullingar General Hospital, where post-mortem examinations are due to take place later.

A garda spokesman said: "The scene of the fire is currently sealed off pending a technical examination."