Two men die in house fire in Serbian village near Belgrade

Two men died when a fire broke out in a house in Progar, a village in the Surčin municipality on the western edge of Belgrade, late on Friday, Serbia's emergency medical service said.

Paramedics said they received a call about the blaze at around 19:30 to 19:35 local time. By the time crews reached the scene, both men were already dead, the emergency service said.

"We received the call at 19:35, but our teams could only confirm the deaths," the emergency service told broadcaster N1 BiH.

The dead were two men whose ages were put at about 60 and 80, Kurir reported, citing the emergency service. Officials have not released their names publicly, and no other residents of the house were reported hurt.

Serbia's emergency medical service said it handled about 107 to 109 calls across Belgrade overnight, 16 to 17 of them at public locations, according to Telegraf.rs, Kurir and N1 BiH. Most callers sought help for chest pain, high temperatures or breathing difficulties, the broadcasters reported. A separate overnight callout involved a traffic accident in which one person was examined at the scene, Telegraf.rs and Kurir said.

Serbian authorities have not said what caused the fire in Progar or whether an investigation has been opened into the deaths. No other injuries were reported in connection with the blaze, and no other properties nearby were affected, according to the reports.

News of the deaths was carried by broadcasters and newspapers in Serbia, Bosnia and North Macedonia, among them N1, Kurir, Telegraf.rs, N1 BiH and Sloboden Pečat. Each outlet cited Serbia's emergency medical service for the time of the call and the confirmation that both men had died before help arrived.