Three siblings from Telangana and an American woman died in a fire at a house in Tennessee in the United States on Sunday. Aaron Naik, 17, Sharron Naik, 14, and Joy Naik, 15, were killed along with 46-year-old Kari Coudriet, who was hosting the teenagers for Christmas at her house in the Collierville suburb, Hindustan Times reported.

The Collierville Bible Church, in a Facebook post on Tuesday, said fire started at 11 pm on Sunday (10.30 am on Monday in Indian time). The three siblings along with Kari Coudriet, her husband and their son were in the house when the fire started.

Kari Coudriet’s husband, Daniel Coudriet, and their son Cole managed to escape the fire and were hospitalised. The Collierville Fire Department’s Chief of Administration said Cole told investigators that the house had no working smoke detectors, reported Fox13 Memphis.

Aaron, Sharron and Joy Naik were attending an academy in the US, according to the church. “The Naik family are missionaries in India that our church supports,” it said.

Their parents have been identified as Srinivas Naik and Sujatha of Gurraputhanda in Nalagonda district of Telangana, reported Hindustan Times. Naik was a pastor in the US, but returned to India last year. His children stayed back in the US to continue their studies.

A Facebook post on the page of French Camp, a town in Mississippi, the children were sent to the US to “keep them safe”. “They have been a blessing to the French Camp community and are loved by our whole town,” it said. The siblings were students of French Camp Academy in the town, according to Fox 13 Memphis.