Reports from Russia say a woman and her five children have died in a house fire in the Leningorsk region of Tatarstan.
The Emergencies Ministry said the fire broke out early on January 9 in a wooden house located in the town of Stary Kuvak.
Official statements did not specify the victims' relationship, but news reports said the dead included a mother and her five children.
The ministry said the woman's husband survived with severe burns and a sixth son was staying at a relative's home and was not involved in the fire.
The Investigative Committee's regional department has opened a criminal case into the incident, citing improper electrical wiring or careless use of fire as the possible cause of the blaze.
Many families across Russia heat their homes with wood and sometimes homemade electronic devices.
