Syrian Refugees Die in Jordan Gas Cylinder Explosion

Two Syrian refugee children and their father died of their injuries on Tuesday after a cooking gas cylinder exploded in their tent in a camp in Jordan, officials said.

The explosion happened in the Zaatari camp, 10 kilometers (six miles) east of the northern city of Mafraq, which is home to more than 100,000 refugees, a security official said.

"Yasin al-Hariri, 40, his son, 8, and daughter, 3, died today after suffering from severe burns when a gas cylinder exploded last night and caused a fire," said the head of the government-run hospital in Mafraq, Samir Mashaqbeh.

"His other daughter, 12, suffered severe burns. She was taken to a hospital in Amman and is still in a serious condition," Mashaqbeh told AFP.

A winter storm has pummeled the Middle East, including Jordan, blanketing already miserable Syrian refugee camps with snow.

Jordan's Civil Defense Department said in a statement on Tuesday that two people had died and 93 were injured over the past five days from the effects of inhaling fumes from domestic heaters.

The conflict which erupted in Syria in March 2011 has prompted around 2.4 million refugees to flee the country, a figure that the United Nations projected on Monday would nearly double next year if the fighting continues.

Jordan says it is hosting around 500,000 Syrian refugees.