A two-year-old boy has died and his mother and four-year-old brother are in a serious condition after a fire at their home in Cork city in the early hours of this morning.
Emergency services responded to a call at Elm Park, Wilton, at around 4am.
The fire is believed to have started in a downstairs room while the mother, who is her late 20s, and her two young sons were asleep upstairs.
Neighbours and gardaí were initially unable to enter the house due to smoke, before the family were taken outside by fire fighters equipped with breathing apparatus.
All three were taken to Cork University Hospital, where the two-year-old boy Cian Ellard was pronounced dead.
The fire is believed to have started in the kitchen of the house.
Gardaí have begun an investigation into the cause of the blaze and the house has been sealed off for a technical examination.
