Australia police charge father with murder after Sydney house fire kills 3 children

Representational image. Photo: Reuters

Australian police said on Thursday a 28-year-old father had been charged with murder following a house fire in Sydney's west that killed three children, including a five-month-old girl.

The man allegedly set fire to the home while his partner and her seven children were inside, according to police.

Police said the man frustrated their attempts to get into the property and that they were treating it as a "domestic-related homicide".

"We will allege that the doors had been locked and as a result of that, prevented those inside, the occupants, to escape the fire," New South Wales state Detective Superintendent Daniel Doherty told a news conference, adding it was one of the worst cases of a parent allegedly murdering their children in the state's recent history.

The unnamed man, under police guard in hospital, has been charged with three counts of murder, five counts of attempted murder and for destroying property with intent to endanger life, police said in a statement earlier on Thursday.

The matter was heard in court on Thursday, with the next hearing scheduled for September 6.

Emergency services were called to Lalor Park, about 35 km (20 miles) west of Sydney's city centre, around 1 a.m. on Sunday (1500 GMT, Saturday) after a fire ripped through a house.

Two boys, aged two and six, and a five-month-old girl, were killed in the fire. They are yet to be formally identified.

A 29-year-old woman and three boys, aged four, seven and 11, and a nine-year-old girl were taken to hospitals. The woman has since been released and the children remained in a stable condition.