Fire broke out in corrugated iron sheds where two Pakistani families lived in village of al-Shuna al-Janobia.

At least 13 Pakistanis have died when a fire swept through their makeshift residences on a farming estate in the Jordan Valley, officials said.

The Middle Eastern country’s civil defence said in a statement that the fire broke out early on Monday in a dwelling where two Pakistani families lived in the village of al-Shuna al-Janobia.

The village sits along the Jordan Valley, south of the confluence of the Yarmouk and Jordan rivers.

Fire service spokesman Iyad al-Omari told public broadcaster Al-Mamlaka, that eight children, four women and a man died in the blaze, which was likely caused by an electrical fault.

Another civil defence source said two families lived in corrugated iron sheds that housed immigrant labourers and that a police investigation had been opened into the incident.

Three other people suffering from shock and burns were taken to hospital.

Thousands of foreign labourers live in wretched conditions on private farms in the Jordan Valley, a fertile vegetable and fruit-growing area.

Jordan has in recent years seen several deadly incidents among Syrian refugees living in camps during the winter, such as fires caused by electrical faults or choking from domestic gas stoves.