Eight children among 12 dead in Philadelphia house fire

A large house fire that tore through a building in Philadelphia early on Wednesday has killed 12 people, including eight children, fire officials said.

At least two people were sent to hospitals, and officials warned the toll could grow as firefighters searched the brick rowhome, where 26 people had been staying.

The fire was brought under control after less than an hour. WPVI-TV reported that at least one child was seen taken out on a stretcher. City and fire officials did not release the names or ages of those killed in the fire.

Television news footage showed ladders propped up against the smoke-blackened front of the house, with all its windows missing. Holes remained in the roof where firefighters had broken through.

According to police, 18 people lived in the second-floor apartment of the duplex, and another eight people lived on the first floor.

Murphy said that the fire was not currently considered suspicious, but investigations continue.

Fire officials originally said 13 people had died in the fire, seven of them children, but totals were updated on Wednesday evening. Eight children and four adults were found dead, officials said. Firefighters were able to rescue one child from the building, but the child died.

The fire burned in a residential area of the Fairmount neighborhood, north-west of downtown and home to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and its famous steps from the film Rocky.

Streets around the scene of the fire remained blocked off on Wednesday evening. Moments after the last firetruck pulled away from the front of the house, several neighbors quietly approached the foot of the block and left candles and flowers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report