Three siblings left home alone were killed in a horror house fire in Brazil apparently caused by a faulty fan in their bedroom.

The blaze started in the family home in Parnaiba, Piaui state, at around 10pm on 17th October.

Police named the victims as four-year-old Maria Eloa, seven-year-old Francisca Aylla, and Francisco Ayllan, six.

After seeing flames, horrified neighbours broke into the home and put out the fire with hoses and buckets of water.

They rescued the siblings and took them to Dirceu Arcoverde State Hospital, but Maria and Francisco died of cardiorespiratory arrest from smoke inhalation.

They were buried in the village of Baixa da Carnauba, in a rural area of Parnaiba municipality, on 19th October.

Francisca had failed to show any neurological response from the moment she was admitted in the early hours of 18th October, suggesting she was brain dead.

She died in hospital at around 1pm on 23rd October.

The children’s parents were present at Maria’s and Francisco’s burial but refused to take questions from reporters.

The couple will be quizzed by police this week and, according to local media, are liable to prosecution for child neglect.