Thorneside house fire kills girl, woman missing

Eight-year-old Raven has been identified as the young girl who died in a horrific house fire, as her babysitter remains unaccounted for.

Emergency services were called to a house on Bayside Court in Thorneside, east of Brisbane, about 7.15am on Sunday.

When fire crews arrived, the townhouse was fully alight, and the girl’s body was found some time after.

It’s understood Raven’s babysitter, a woman in her 30s, remains unaccounted for as investigations are underway to what caused the blaze.

“However, we are of the strong belief that person is also in the fire scene,” Queensland Police Service Chief Inspector Karl Hahne said.

“Efforts were made to enter the premises and extinguish the fire.”

Raven’s mother and stepfather were interstate at the time of the fire, and have remembered how much the eight-year-old loved cooking, shopping and socialising.

“(She was a) very special, very well loved eight-year-old girl,” they told Nine News.

“She was very pretty, (had) long hair and she lifted them up when they saw her.”

While no other injuries have been reported, Chief Inspector Hahne said he expected it would take some time to determine the cause of the fire.

“It’s a confronting scene for all emergency services, and I’m quite sure for the residents and our hearts go out to the families affected by this,” Chief Inspector Hahne said.

“For the next few hours and even the next couple of days, this scene will be an ongoing investigation.

“There was some support from neighbours, people surrounding to get it under control.”

Chief Inspector Hahne said he fire was under control by 8am but firefighters are continuing to make the structure “safe”.

Photos from the scene show one side of the roof collapsed during the blaze.

Queensland Police have declared the fire a crime scene as investigations into the cause of the blaze are underway.