Two Jordanians, one Sri Lankan die in house fire

AMMAN — Three people, including a Sri Lankan domestic helper, were killed and two others suffered smoke inhalation in a house fire in Mahes, around 8km west of the capital in Balqa Governorate, on Sunday morning an official source said.

The fire, which started at 6am in a three-storey house, resulted in the death of an 85-year-old man, a 16-year-old boy, both Jordanian, and a 26-year-old Sri Lankan domestic helper, a Civil Defence Department (CDD) official said.

The Sri Lankan woman was charred to death, while the two other victims received second- and third-degree burns, and died shortly after being admitted to hospital, according to a CDD statement.

Two other people — also Jordanians — suffered smoke inhalation and were taken to Al Hussein Medical Centre, the CDD official told The Jordan Times.

“The fire gutted an entire floor and destroyed its contents,” the official added.

It took CDD personnel around three hours to bring the fire under control and prevent it from spreading to the two other floors, he said.

A special committee was formed to investigate the cause of the fire, according to the CDD statement. 

“It will take investigators around one week to determine the starting point of the blaze and its cause,” the CDD official explained.