Eight disabled children died from smoke inhalation at a welfare home in southern China after their quilts caught fire from a burning mosquito coil, officials said Wednesday.
The children were discovered at 3:30 a.m. Wednesday by a nurse who saw smoke coming from their room at the home for youth and the elderly in Huizhou City in southern Guangdong province, according to a statement by the city government.
Efforts to resuscitate them were unsuccessful, the statement said.
The children, between the ages of 4 and 9, were either blind or physically or mentally disabled, it said.
An initial investigation indicated the children died of smoke inhalation after a blanket fell on a lit mosquito coil, the statement said. The children had been sleeping two to a bed, and the room's windows and doors were closed because of the cold weather, the statement said.
Provincial Governor Huang Hua Hua has called for an investigation into their deaths and promised severe punishment for those responsible.
The welfare house is home to about 80 seniors and 60 children, it said.
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