EAST FRANKLIN TWP, Armstrong County — Authorities have recovered the bodies of two children near a second-floor window, suggesting they may have been trying to escape a fire that badly damaged their home.

Armstrong County Coroner Brian Myers said the blaze Thursday in a rural area near Kittanning took the lives of 10-year-old Darren Hooten and his 13-year-old sister, Emilee.

Both were pronounced dead at the scene. Autopsies will be conducted and toxicology reports are pending, according to a news release Myers issued Thursday evening.

He said they were found “close to the window like they were trying to get out.”

According to Myers the fire, which broke out at about 10:30 a.m. Thursday, was discovered by another child in the home. That child alerted family members who tried to extinguish the blaze, Myers said, but it was too well-established.

Myers said the children’s mother jumped out of a window with a 4-year-old. The woman, her boyfriend and the 4-year-old were taken to hospitals.

Two older sisters and a grandfather escaped unharmed.

Myers said there are no signs of foul play and the cause of the fire is under investigation by a Pennsylvania State Police fire marshal.