Madagascar compound fire kills 39

Madagascar: Thirty nine people, including 16 children, have died in a fire incident in a residential compound in a village in Madagascar confirmed security official.

Police senior official Anthony Rakotoarison said the fire broke out at about 7pm on Saturday evening at a compound during a party to celebrate the completion of a house renovation.

Rakotoarison said the fire had started at a straw hut that was erected near a fireplace where foods for the occasion were cooked, before it spread to the main house.

"Thirty-nine people were killed by the fire - 38 of them died on Saturday, another victim passed away today," he said.

In a statement by the police, it said;

"two victims were charred while 36 others were burnt and asphyxiated."

Reports say some victims had attempted to escape the blaze but were trapped because there was only one narrow doorway to exit the main house.

Rakotoarison said those who were outside of the building could not enter the house to rescue those trapped inside because the door was blocked from the inside by victims who had fallen against it as they try to escape.

There is no fire station located near the site of the accident in Mangidy village in Ikalamavony district, a deeply rural and isolated area.