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LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Five children and two adults died in a house fire in rural Knox County, Kentucky, on Saturday, in a blaze that was reported by a neighbour who saw smoke but was unable to reach the home’s occupants, police said.

The two adults who died lived in the house with their three children, said Kentucky State Police Sergeant Jackie Pickrell. The other two children were visiting the home.

Investigators are seeking to find the cause of the fire at the brick and timber home in Gray, a small community near Corbin, Kentucky, 130 miles (210 km) southeast of Louisville.

“A neighbour had noticed the smoke and responded and tried to get them out,” Pickrell said.

But the seven people inside the home are believed to have already died when the neighbour responded. Investigators suspect they succumbed to smoke inhalation, although the cause of death will be determined at an autopsy.