A man who ran into a burning house to try to rescue a three-year-old boy died along with the child when they were trapped in the inferno.

Police in Kariega (Uitenhage) in the Eastern Cape are now on the hunt for a suspect who allegedly set the home alight in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Six people were inside the house in Oliver Street, Blikkiesdorp, when the fire started shortly after midnight, police said in a statement.

Some of the occupants managed to break down the back door and escape.

A family friend aged 37, who went back into the house to rescue a three-year-old boy, was trapped inside the house with the boy and burnt to death.

“The suspect is known and an arrest is imminent. Cases of murder, attempted murder and arson are under investigation and the motive is yet to be established,” police spokesperson Capt Gerda Swart said.

TimesLIVE