By 3 News online staff
Waimate's mayor says the small Canterbury town will do everything it can to support three sisters left orphaned after a fire broke out in their family home.
The girls' parents, Tej and Tika Kafle, and year-old brother Prem were killed in the blaze above the Everest Indian Restaurant on the town's main street this morning.
Relatives have confirmed the couple's three daughters who managed to escape are aged 11, 17 and 23.
The Nepalese family had moved from Christchurch early last year after their business was destroyed in the earthquakes.
Mayor Craig Rowley said the community was in a state of shock.
"Obviously it's a tragic event. It does hit the community, a small community, hard. But, obviously now we need to concentrate on supporting the three young girls that survived and making sure they're alright moving forward into the future."
Four fire trucks were called to the scene around 7:40am, with the fire believed to have started in the kitchen area of the five-bedroom accommodation area.
Police say the surviving three children escaped out of a window and were rescued from a veranda at the back of the building.
They were taken to Timaru Hospital for smoke inhalation, and one was treated for minor cuts to a hand from escaping through the window.
Mr Rowley said he knew the family well.
"They were lovely and hardworking."
It took firefighters 45 minutes to put out the blaze. The building will be cordoned off until the area can be made safe and an investigation into the cause of the fire has been completed.
Fire Service spokesperson Paul McGill says the deaths are "a tragedy".
"We are deeply conscious of how hard this will hit all those involved in this terrible fire," he says.
Investigators are working to establish whether there were any working smoke alarms in the property.
According to the Timaru Herald, the former landmark Savoy Tearooms were converted to an Indian restaurant in 2012. The building is about 111 years old.
Information on how to assist the family is available here.
3 News / RadioLIVE
