【澳纽网编译】一对墨尔本夫妇透露了一场恐怖的火灾发生时的情况，当时他们邻居家的房子被大火吞噬，同时邻居的四个孩子仍被困在屋子里。
在这场周日凌晨1点左右的火灾发生后，警方被叫到位于事发地墨尔本西南部Werribee的一户人家家中。
其中三名家庭成员 (母亲、父亲和一名8岁的男孩) 在火灾发生时设法逃离了大火，但是在混乱中警方了解到业主家中的其他四个孩子仍在燃烧着的房屋中不知去向，所有人都对此十分担忧。
不幸的是，这四名失踪的儿童后来被证实已在火灾中遇难。
受害者包括两名10岁和3岁的男孩，以及两名分别为6岁和1岁的女孩。
30名消防员花了一个多小时才将火势控制住，在这个过程中，遇难者的房屋屋顶甚至被大火烧至倒塌。
照片为警方正从该名业主家中搜寻遇难者遗体，并将其抬出屋外。图片/NCA Newswire
遇难者家属的邻居吉塔-迪根（Geeta Deagan）向新西兰《先驱太阳报》讲述了火灾发生后这位父亲冲到他们家门口的绝望时刻。
迪根说：“ 他当时拼命的敲打着我们的门……并对我丈夫喊道，‘我的孩子死了，我的孩子死了’。”
这位在该地区居住了六年的妇女表示她随后试图安慰这位绝望的母亲，然而这位母亲哭泣道：“ 他们不会再回来了……我的四个孩子死了，我不是一个好妈妈，我不是一个好妈妈。”
据九号新闻（Nine News）报道，周日，当这一家人的朋友和亲人回到房屋的废墟时，没有控制住悲伤的情绪，并开始嚎啕大哭。
一位遇难者家庭的朋友对媒体表示，这种情况对其他幸存的家庭成员来说是 “ 毁灭性的打击”。
对火灾发生原因的调查
目前警方仍在确定大火的起因，并且组织了隶属于纵火和爆炸物小组的专家进行相应调查。
乡村消防局的指挥官大卫-克兰西（David Clancy）说，当消防人员赶到时，大火已经在房屋内蔓延，这导致消防人员无法进行内部的检查。
他同时表示，坍塌的屋顶阻碍了进入房屋的通道，这些都使消防员进入火灾现场时过于危险。
克兰西说：“ 这是特别非常悲惨的情况，有四个年幼的孩子在火灾中丧生。”。
维多利亚州警方发布的新闻稿证实，一名男子、一名妇女和一名8岁男孩因火灾而被送往医院。
在三名受伤者中，一名男性消防员被火灾现场的高温浓烟熏伤，该男子伤情严重，目前已被送往医院。一名妇女因吸入烟尘而接受治疗，孩子受伤程度较轻，也被送往医院进行进一步诊断。
该声明还证实，一名45岁的男子、一名38岁的妇女和一名8岁的男孩得以从火灾现场中逃脱。
Werribee消防队的副队长Damien Molloy说，目前遇难者家属正处于极度的悲伤之中，精神状况非常不稳定，因此目前很难从他们那里获得有效的信息。
他同时表示：“ 父母和八岁孩子的悲伤（也使我们）很难在早期获得准确的信息，从而让我们在最初的搜寻时能够锁定集中搜索的区域。”
A Melbourne couple have revealed the horror moment they realised four children were trapped inside their neighbour’s home as it became engulfed in flames.
Police were called to a home in Werribee in Melbourne’s southwest on Sunday morning after a fire broke out at around 1am.
Three family members managed to escape the blaze and, in the commotion, authorities initially feared the other four children had gone missing.
However, it was later confirmed they had perished in the fire.
The victims include two boys, aged 10 and three and two girls, aged six and one.
It took 30 firefighters more than an hour to bring the fire under control, with the roof of the family home collapsing in the process.
The mother, father and an eight-year-old boy managed to escape the blaze.
Neighbour Geeta Deagan told the Herald Sun of the horrific moment the father rushed to their door after the fire broke out.
“He banged on our door … (and said) to my husband, ‘my kids are dead, my kids are dead’,” Deagan said.
The woman, who had lived in the area for six years, said she then tried to comfort the mother who told her, “They are not going to come back … my four kids died, I’m not a good mum, I’m not a good mum”.
Photos taken by NCA’s NewsWire showed police collecting the bodies from the property and carrying them out of the home.
Friends and loved ones of the family openly wailed in the street as they returned to the ruins of the home on Sunday, according to Nine News.
A family friend told the media outlet that the situation was “devastating” for the surviving family.
Investigation into how fire broke out
Police are still determining how the blaze started, with members of the arson and explosives squad conducting investigations.
David Clancy, a Commander from Country Fire Authority, said that by the time fire crews had arrived, the blaze had already spread through the house, with firefighters unable to conduct an internal exam.
He said the collapsed roof impeded access to the home and made it too dangerous for firefighters to enter.
“These were particularly very tragic circumstances with four young children who perished in the fire,” Clancy said.
A media release from Victoria Police confirmed a man, woman and eight-year-old boy were taken to hospital as a result of the blaze.
Of the injuries, the man – a firefighter – was taken to hospital with serious smoke-related injuries, a woman was treated for smoke inhalation and the child was taken to hospital with minor injuries.
The statement also confirmed that a 45-year-old man, a 38-year-old woman, and an eight-year-old boy were able to escape the fire.
Lieutenant at the Werribee Fire Brigade, Damien Molloy, said it was also initially difficult to get information from the family members, due to their level of distress.
“The distress of the parents and the eight-year-old (also made it) very difficult to get accurate information early on to be able to focus our search areas initially,” he said.
By the time emergency services were on the scene, Molloy said it was “way beyond” anything a neighbour could have done to help extinguish the flames.
Detective Senior Sergeant Ashley Ryan told reporters was also an upsetting scene for the emergency services.
“Our hearts go out to the family this morning but it’s also very distressing for members of Victoria police and emergency services,” he said.
Detective Ryan said it was a “terrible set of circumstances”.
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