Sarajevo's officials declare day of mourning for 5 young children dying in orphanage fire

Sarajevo's officials declared Wednesday a day of mourning for five young children who died in an orphanage fire and were to be buried later in the day.

Photo: Sarajevo's officials declare day of mourning for 5 young children dying in orphanage fire

An early morning fire tore through an orphanage in Bosnia's capital on Sunday, killing the children and injuring 17 others and a nurse who tried to save them.

Two children remained in hospital care, one in critical condition, but 15 had been released, officials said Wednesday. The nurse suffered burns to her hands and face, but her condition was described as stable.

The children, aged between 1 month and 7 years, were suffocated by smoke, according to an autopsy report.

Firefighters said the flames spread through the building so quickly that although they managed to extinguish the blaze in 10 minutes, they were not able to save all 120 children in the orphanage.

The Sarajevo mayor and other city and state officials were to attend the afternoon funeral at Sarajevo's Vlakovo cemetery.