SIDON, Lebanon: A boy died Thursday and his brother and two sisters were pronounced clinically dead as a result of a fire at their house near the southern city of Sidon.

Security sources said Ahmad Ibrahim al-Hajj Ahmad, 16, died from asphyxiation caused by smoke inhalation.

The fire broke out shortly after midnight at the family home in Ghazieh, southeast of Sidon.

His brother, Ali, 12, and two sisters – Hiba, 8 and Nadeen, 3 – were already breathless when they arrived at Sidon’s Al-Rai hospital.

Dr. Ihsan Hijazi told The Daily Star the three children have been pronounced “clinically dead” after inhaling smoke.

They are on respiratory machines and being monitored at the hospital’s intensive care unit, Hijazi said.

Ibrahim, the father, who is a Lebanese Army adjutant, his wife, Noha, and their 6-year-old daughter Zahraa came out of the fire with minor injuries, the source added.

They were discharged from the hospital later Thursday.

Preliminary reports said the fire, which erupted on the first floor of the two-storey building, was likely sparked by an electric heater.