Woman arrested after four children die in London house fire

A woman has been arrested after four children died in a house fire in south London.

Eight fire engines and around 60 firefighters were deployed shortly before 19:00 local time on Thursday to tackle "an intense blaze" at a residential address in Sutton.

Four children, two three-year-old boys and two four-year-old boys, were taken out of the property by firefighters and given immediate CPR.

"All four children were removed to hospital where, tragically and despite the efforts of all involved, they were pronounced deceased," the London Fire Brigade said in a statement.

The boys were all related and the next of kin are aware and will be provided with specialist support.

The Metropolitan Police announced on Friday morning that "a 27-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of child neglect and remains in police custody."

Superintendent Rob Shepherd said in a statement that "at this very early stage the cause of the fire is unknown and will be investigated."

"The thoughts of everyone at the South Area Command Unit are with the family and friends of these four young children, who have suffered such a devastating and tragic loss tonight. I know these sentiments will be shared by the local community, Sutton and London as a whole," he added.

The London Fire Brigade also sent their thoughts to the family, friends of the victims as well as to the whole local community.

"The welfare of our staff involved in this incident is very important to us and all of them will be offered counselling as a priority," London Fire Commissioner Andy Roe said.