Elderly Georgia woman killed in house fire

An elderly southwest Georgia woman was killed Thursday in an early morning house fire, authorities said.

The fire, at a home on Fox Lane in the Webster County town of Richland, was reported about 1:15 a.m., according to Glenn Allen, a spokesman for state Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner Ralph Hudgens.

Sammie Blakely, 81, died in the blaze, which destroyed the home, Allen said.

He said the cause of the fire is under investigation.

Webster County is south of Columbus and about 150 miles southwest of Atlanta.

Blakely’s death is the 83rd fire fatality in Georgia this year, according to Allen.

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