A Nairobi family is in mourning after three young boys died in a house fire at their South C apartment early Thursday morning.

The boys, aged between two and five, were trapped inside their home on the first floor of Huda Apartment along Ole Shapara Road when the fire broke out around 1 am.

Police said the children were found unresponsive and were pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

“They had suffocated,” said Nairobi police boss George Seda, adding that two teenage girls rescued from the apartment were admitted to the ICU.

Firefighters from the County Government, supported by neighbours, managed to contain the blaze and rescue five other children—two girls and three boys.

The survivors were rushed to hospital, where they are receiving treatment.

The cause of the fire is still unknown, and investigations by experts are underway.

The children’s bodies were moved to the mortuary as the family struggled to come to terms with the tragedy.

This incident comes just days after a couple was killed in another fire in Kawangware.

That fire broke out on the fourth floor of a building around 2 a.m. on Sunday and was also contained by emergency services.

There has been a rise in fatal fires across Nairobi, with at least 15 people reported dead in separate incidents in Kibera, Mukuru Kwa Njenga, and Mathare in May.

Many of these fires have raised concerns over safety preparedness in residential areas.

Nairobi Regional Commissioner Katee Mwanza has called on communities, especially in informal settlements, to implement basic fire safety practices to help prevent further loss of life.