In the village of Verbivka, Korostensky district of Zhytomyr region, a fire broke out in an apartment building, three children died as a result of the fire, their mother received burns, the State Emergency Service reports.

"This afternoon, a fire broke out in a residential building in the village of Verbivka, Korostensky district. When firefighters arrived at the scene, the house was already engulfed in flames. Firefighters from the local fire department from two villages helped to extinguish the fire, but it took almost one hour and a half to completely eliminate it. Unfortunately, it was not possible to save the lives of three children aged 2 to 5 years. The mother of the kids, born in 1986, received burns," the message posted on the Telegram channel on Friday says.

It is indicated that the preliminary cause of the fire is a violation of fire safety rules during the operation of furnace heating.