A heavily pregnant mum who was bent on saving her son trapped inside a burning house, has died when she went inside to get him out.
Elizabeth Perez and her two-year-old son died in the fire
A heavily pregnant woman died with her 2-year-old son in her arms after she went back into her burning home to rescue him.
Elizabeth Perez, who was 8 months pregnant, managed to escape the blaze with relatives but as soon as she realised little Nathaniel was missing, she desperately ran back to save him.
She however didn't make it out and firefighters found her holding the toddler's body near a second-floor bedroom doorway in the early hours of Friday.
The fire service told local media a family member had initially tried to fight the fire at the house in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US.
The city's acting fire commissioner, Derrick Sawyer, told NBC Philadelphia : "It's not a pretty sight … her holding her child in her arms trying to get back out."
He said that heavy smoke and flames prevented the pair from getting back out of the burning building. Police are investigating the cause of the fire but believe a heater could have set a blanket alight before the fire spread.
Tributes have been left to the family on Elizabeth's Facebook page where people have described her as a "hero with a beautiful soul".
4 children and two adults also managed to escape and were taken to hospital in a stable condition.