A candle lit during the power cut is likely to have caused a blaze that engulfed a house in Lija yesterday morning, sending almost an entire family to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation.

Three children and a woman were in the house in Giannikola Buhagiar Street when the fire broke out. An investigation is under way but sources said the blaze probably started because of a candle that remained lit after the previous night’s blackout.

The fire started in a child’s bedroom but fortunately the girl had moved to her parents’ bedroom because she was scared of the dark.

Members of the Civil Protection Department were called to the house some time before 9am to control the blaze.