Boy, 13, dies in fire

Boy, 13, dies in fire

A teenager has died and another has been left seriously ill following a fire at a south Wales house.

Gwent Police revealed on Saturday that two 13-year-old boys were in the back yard of the empty house in Jones Street, in the Stowhill area of Newport, when fire broke out at about 2000 GMT on Friday.

One of the boys was found to be dead at the scene and the other was taken to Morriston Hospital, Swansea, suffering from severe burns. He is being treated in the intensive care unit.

It took firefighters an hour to bring the blaze under control.

Police are not treating the incident as suspicious.

The identity of the dead boy will not be released until all relatives have been informed.

A force spokesman said: "We offer our condolences to the families of the victims."

Counsellor John Marsh, who represents the Stow Hill ward on Newport City Council, said he was shocked at the tragedy.

"Baneswell is a community which looks after its own," he said. "It is one of the oldest parts of Newport.

"This is a very sad happening. As a representative for the area I know people will be very upset indeed."

Fellow ward counsellor, Miqdad Al Nuaimi, said: "My thoughts are with the families of those children. It is a tragic incident."