MANILA (Xinhua): A fire on Saturday gutted a house in Quezon province, southeast of Manila, killing six family members and injuring two others, police said.

In a report, police said the fire trapped the victims, a 69-year-old woman and her five grandchildren, inside the two-story house in Candelaria town. Two other females, aged 48 and 37, were injured.

Police said a neighbor witnessed the fire and "saw the fatalities trapped inside the house, shouting and seeking for help."

The fire, which broke out at around 1am local time, was put out an hour and a half later.

Earlier in the week, four children, including an 11-month-old baby boy, died and two others were injured in a fire that hit a residential area in Cebu City in the central Philippines early on Thursday, authorities said.

The Cebu City Command Center said the fire broke out at 5:51am local time. Firefighters declared the fire out around 6:15am.

An uncle of the children told authorities that the four victims, aged 11, six, one and 11 months, were asleep and trapped on their house's second floor. Those injured were a 30-year-old woman and a 31-year-old man, also family members.

Authorities said at least seven houses were gutted in the fire.

An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the fire. - Xinhua