Mother, 8 children killed in US house fire

CHICAGO: A 35-year-old mother and her eight young children were killed when a fire gutted their wooden frame home in the US state of Kentucky, officials said today. Two people — the children's father, Chad J Watson, 36, and an 11-year-old child — survived. Both were taken via air ambulance to a hospital in Nashville, Tennessee and were listed in stable condition. The fire broke out in the early hours of Friday morning outside the town of Greenville, Kentucky. The mother was identified as LaRae Watson. The children who died ranged in age from 4 to 15, CNN reported. Investigators have ruled the fire at a rural home in Greenville accidental, according to Kentucky State Police. "It appears that an electric baseboard heater located in a bedroom ignited some nearby combustibles," they said in a statement. Police also said eight of the victims were found together in the master bedroom near the front of the house. The ninth victim was found about 10 to 15 feet away. Aerial video from CNN affiliate WTVF showed the house's charred exterior and blackened debris scattered around it.   PTI