A mother  and her six-year-old child died in a house fire in Sydney’s south-west on Wednesday morning, authorities in the Australian state of New South Wales said.

Emergency services were called to the single storey house in Heckenberg at 12:40 a.m. on Wednesday (1330 GMT Tuesday), NSW Police said in a statement.

Fire and Rescue NSW said, when police got to the scene, they “were confronted by a well-advanced fire and flames flaring out the windows.’’

Firefighters said that eight people had managed to escape before emergency services got to the scene, adding that they also received reports of people still inside the house.

“In spite of their best efforts, were unable to enter the property due to the extreme fire conditions.

“Once firefighters knocked down the fire, they tragically located the bodies of a 46-year-old woman and six-year-old child,’’ FRNSW added.

NSW Police said a two-year-old girl and a 50-year-old man were in hospital, both in critical condition.

Another 14-year-old girl was also taken to hospital.

The fire brigade spoke of one man and two children sustaining serious injuries.

A two-year-old boy, a seven-year-old girl, a 36-year-old man and two women aged 37 and 51 were checked at the scene by paramedics, police said.

Firefighters said it took an hour and a half to extinguish the fire completely, “the home has been completely destroyed.’’

An inquiry has been initiated to determine how the fire started and whether there was a working smoke alarm in the home.

(dpa/NAN)