Ten people, including three children, died Friday when a fire engulfed a house in the eastern US state of Pennsylvania, state police said.

Among those killed when the fire broke out in the early morning hours in Nescopeck, a town in the state’s northeast, were three children aged five, six and seven years old, police said in a statement.

The other victims ranged in age from 19 to 79.

Three adults escaped the blaze.

“The residence was completely destroyed by the fire” and K9 units were deployed to help in the search for victims, police said.

Images carried by US media showed the charred walls of the two-story home crumbling around the gutted remnants of the building.

“I tried to get in as fast as I can,” he told the newspaper, saying he attempted to enter multiple times before his colleagues pulled him away.

An investigation into the cause of the fire has been launched. (AFP, excluding headline)

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