An unimaginable tragedy in Halifax.
Investigators have confirmed seven children, all members of a Syrian refugee family, died early Tuesday in a fast-moving house fire.
Their parents, identified as Ebraheim and Kawthar Barho, were in hospital Tuesday, where Ebraheim was fighting for his life after apparently trying in vain to save his children.
Their children ranged in age from about three months to the mid-teens.
It’s described as Nova Scotia's deadliest blaze in recent memory.
Officials at the Nova Scotia Islamic Community Centre said the Barhos had fled that country's civil war.
Many people from Halifax's tight-knit Muslim community also gathered at the hospital Tuesday.
The family is among 1,795 Syrian refugees who have come to Nova Scotia in recent years, including 345 privately sponsored refugees.
A fundraising campaign, organized by family friends including the Imam Council of Halifax, has been launched to help the grieving parents.