A seven-year-old girl and an eight-year-old boy were among four people killed in a northern Alberta house fire over the weekend.
Fox Lake RCMP were called to the house fire on Barge Road in Fox Lake, Alta., at around 6:40 a.m. Saturday. When police arrived, officers said the house was already burned down “and likely had been on fire for some time.”
On Sunday, fire investigators and a cadaver dog searched the property and four people were found dead.
In an update Tuesday afternoon, Fox Lake RCMP said the victims have been identified as a 78-year-old man, a 78-year-old woman, an eight-year-old boy and a seven-year-old girl.
All four were residents of Fox Lake, according to the RCMP. Their names have not been released by police.
A five-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy managed to escape the house fire. They were treated for non-life-threatening injuries at the Fox Lake nursing station.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but RCMP said it does not appear to be suspicious.
Fox Lake is a remote community located on the Little Red River Cree Nation, approximately 152 kilometres east of High Level.