Three children, 4, 3 and 1 years old, were killed in a house fire that broke out in Dushanbe’s Shohmansour district in the afternoon of March 2.

The Interior Ministry’s official website says the preliminary examination of the scene showed that the fire was caused by electric heating device that was left unattended. 

At the same time, it is not reported where the children’s parents were at that time.

Recall, six members of one family, including children 11, 9, 8 and 6 years old, died from carbon monoxide poisoning in Dushanbe on the night of February 27-28.

The Emergencies Committee under the Government of Tajikistan said the tragedy had occurred in a private home in Dushanbe’s Firdavsi district (28/1 Gravzavod).  

The deceased father of the family was 38 years old, the mother was 37 years old and the children were 11, 9, 8 and 6 years old.

Umeda Yusufi, a spokeswoman for the Emergencies Committee said the family had heated their home with a coal-powered stove. 

The family was found by neighbors who reported to the relevant authorities, the spokeswoman added. 

The couple and their four children were buried on February 28.

Burning coal inside the home for the purposes of heating or cooking produces particulate and gas emissions that may contain a number of harmful chemicals, such as benzene, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Dushanbe residents have complained about electricity outages in recent days.  The outages were reportedly imposed due to a decrease in the water levels of rivers feeding into the Nurek hydropower station, causing a reduction in energy output.