LONDON - A couple who died with their three young children in a fire in their north London flat made desperate efforts to save the children's lives before being overcome by smoke, firefighters said yesterday.
Shagahan Miah (41) and his wife Rukshana (25) struggled through smoke and fumes filling their second floor flat in Palmers Green as they tried to snatch their children to safety.
Mr and Mrs Miah died in the flat and the children were dead on arrival at a nearby hospital. The children were named as Mishkatah (4), Shamir (17 months), and Mary (two months).
The fire started shortly before 7 a.m. in a first floor flat above the Dipali Indian restaurant in which Mr Miah, a Bangladeshi, was a partner.