Mother and five children die in Portugal fire

A mother and her five children died in a fire in a shack in a suburban district near Lisbon today.

A mother and her five children died in a fire in a shack in a suburban district near Lisbon today.

The fire started at about 5 a.m. in a wealthy district of Cascais, about 20 kilometres west of Lisbon.

When firefighters arrived, the shack was engulfed in flames.

"It was impossible to save the people inside," the assistant fire chief said.