SYDNEY, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- One person has died and four more have been injured in a house fire northwest of Melbourne in the Australian state of Victoria.
Victoria Police said that emergency services were called to reports of a fire at a residential property in the small town of Maryborough, about 140 km northwest of Melbourne, shortly before midday local time on Thursday.
A male occupant of the house in his 30s died at the scene, police said, while a two-year-old child was airlifted to hospital in a serious condition.
Three more people, two women in their 30s and 60s and a three-year-old child, were treated at the scene for non-life-threatening injuries.
Victoria Police Senior Sergeant David Flood told reporters on Thursday afternoon that firefighters rescued the two-year-old from the building.
"This is a tragedy that's unexpected. It's probably extremely unexpected at this time of year," he said,
Ben Miller from Ambulance Victoria said the two-year-old was placed in a medically-induced coma before being taken to hospital.
"The injuries were certainly life-threatening," Miller said.
He said the male occupant was in cardiac arrest when ambulance crews arrived and could not be saved.
Police said it was too early to determine the cause of the fire.
A crime scene has been established and an arson chemist deployed to examine the property. ■
