Antananarivo: A fire during a house-warming party in central Madagascar killed 38 people, including 16 children, as the blaze ripped through a thatched roof, police said.


"Of the 39 people in the house, 38 were killed, including 16 children," Herilalatiana Andrianarivosona, spokesman for the police, told AFP, adding that the fire which took place on Saturday night was an accident.