Two dead, four hospitalised in Sydney house fire

Sydney: Two people have died and four more have been hospitalised after a house fire in western Sydney in Australia's state of New South Wales (NSW).

Emergency services were called to the fire in the suburb of Heckenberg, about 30 kilometres west of central Sydney, at about 12:40 a.m. local time on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

MSW Police said that the blaze was extinguished and officers and fire crews entered the property where they found a 46-year-old woman and a six-year-old girl deceased.

Eight other occupants of the house escaped the fire and were treated at the scene by ambulance paramedics.

Four were taken to nearby hospitals, including a girl and a man being in a critical condition.

The fire caused extensive damage to the house.

Addressing reporters at the scene later on Wednesday morning, NSW Fire and Rescue Superintendent Adam Dewberry described the fire as "horrific and confronting" with flames coming out of every window.

He said that police and firefighters have commenced an investigation into the cause of the fire.

Earlier in February, an investigation was launched into the death of a man in a suspicious house fire in Melbourne's inner southeast.

Police in Australia's state of Victoria issued a statement saying that emergency services were called to reports of a house fire in the beachside suburb of St Kilda, six km southeast of central Melbourne.

Fire crews attended the scene and found the ground floor of the building aflame. An unidentified man was found inside with critical injuries. He was treated but died at the scene.

Firefighters deemed the fire suspicious and handed the case to police.