Children, 3 and 5, die in Fujairah house fire

The siblings were alone in their bedroom when the blaze broke out

Hor Al-Saeedi died in the blaze with her brother, Fahad. Reem Mohammed / The National

Two Emirati children aged three and five have died in a house fire in Fujairah.

The family said the blaze broke out on the top floor of a two-storey property belonging to the pair's grandparents at about 10.30am on Monday.

The siblings - named as Hor Al-Saeedi and her brother Fahad - were alone in their bedroom on the first floor when the fire took hold.

Their aunt and her son rushed upstairs in an effort to save them but were unable to open the bedroom door. Both children could be heard inside calling for help.

"I can't believe that my small children are dead, they shouldn't have been left alone in the room," Mr Al Saeedi told The National.

“I can’t express how sad I am for losing my beloved children. I'm grateful that my [two] elder sons are still alive and with us, as they were at school at the time.

The children were at the home of their grandparents at the time of the fire. Reem Mohammed / The National

“Hor was going to join the school after the summer vacation and was very excited."

Brig Ali Al Tunaiji, director of Fujairah civil defence, said both parents of the children had been at work at the time of the fire.

“The children were alone in their room when the fire started,” Brig Al Tunaiji said. “Firefighters managed to control the fire but both children died of smoke inhalation.

“We don’t know yet what caused the fire but we urge residents to install fire detectors as soon as possible to prevent such accidents from happening.”

On Monday afternoon, the family of the children gathered at Al-Zahraa mosque in Fujairah for their funeral.

Nabeel Al-Saeedi, an uncle, told how his sister and her son had rushed upstairs to try to help, only to see smoke billowing from under the bedroom door.

“They were scared and calling for help and when my sister couldn’t open the door they told her that they would hide under their beds,” Mr Al-Saeedi said.

“They couldn’t open the door as it was stuck. Firefighters broke the window in order to enter the room and found them dead under their beds.

"My sister called me and informed me about the fire and when I arrived I found firefighters in the house trying to control the fire."

In January last year, seven Emirati children died in a fire that broke out at a home in Fujairah.

Following that tragedy, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, said he was shocked by the deaths.

“A casualty on our children is a casualty on our country,” he said.