TWO young Irish people, believed to be students, have been killed in a fire in New York State.
They died when the fire swept through a house in which they were staying yesterday morning.
The two who died were a male aged 26 and a female aged 27, who was from the midlands.
Four other occupants of the house, all of them Irish, were treated at Nyack Hospital for injuries in the blaze, which was fought by 50 firemen.
One fireman was also treated for burns.
The house was in Congers, in the Rockland County area of New York State, around 30 miles north of New York City.
According to US police, they were called to the fire at First Street, Congers at 3.00 am yesterday.
When they arrived, the house was already well alight. Four young people had escaped from the fire, but two others had already died.
The body of the woman was formally identified last night but a formal identification of the young man's body is unlikely to be made until later today.
The Rockland County Sheriff's Department Bureau of Criminal Investigation has commenced its inquiry into the cause of the fire.
Mr James Hennessy, the Deputy Irish Consul General in New York, said last night that his office is dealing with the incident.
Emergency passports were issued to the four survivors yesterday to enable them to return home.
At least two of them were students who had been working in the US for the summer, as part of the annual J1 student work and travel exchange programme.
The programme accommodated 6,500 Irish third level students this year.
Officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs last night declined to give and further details.