Man and four children killed in Belgium blaze

A man and his four children have died in a house fire in south-eastern Belgium.

Firefighters were alerted to the blaze in the middle of the night but were faced with a home engulfed in flames when they arrived at the site in Han, some 50 miles (80km) south of Brussels.

Local fire chief Francois Bodart told the RTL network early today that the mother and a family friend managed to escape the blaze but were admitted to hospital suffering from burns and breathing difficulties.

The children were two boys and two girls, age from two to 11.