House fire in Yilan kills pregnant Indonesian woman, husband

Taipei, July 22 (CNA) A house fire in Yilan County on Tuesday afternoon killed a pregnant woman in her third trimester and her husband, local police said.

The Indonesian couple were found unresponsive at the scene in Su'ao Township and later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, police said.

Firefighters received a report of the blaze at 1:28 p.m. and arrived to find the first floor engulfed in flames, with thick black smoke pouring from the building, according to the county's fire department.

During a search of the building, they found the woman on the stairway between the second and third floors and the man in the third-floor bathroom. Neither showed signs of life and could not be resuscitated at the hospital.

The house was shared by the Indonesian couple and another couple from the Philippines, police said.

Police believed the fire began on the first floor, which was used as a restaurant, though the cause remains under investigation.