Fire that killed two sisters was started by candles in flat below

A fire which killed two sisters in Aberdeen was started by candles in the flat below and spread rapidly, an investigation has found.

Shikshya and Aanchal Subedi, who were 24 and 28, died at the block in the city's Back Hilton Road in January 2024. A joint police and fire investigation was launched into the blaze, but there were no suspicious circumstances found.

It was already known the fire had spread from a neighbouring flat.

A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) incident report - which has now been obtained by BBC Scotland News through a Freedom of Information (FoI) request - reveals that the fire was started by candles.

The report said a mattress in a lower flat bedroom ignited, and a lithium battery then caused the fire to spread rapidly.

Family asks law firm to investigate blaze that killed two sisters

The report said the victims were already thought to be dead when firefighters got to them, after being trapped by smoke.

The fatal fire on the evening of 29 January 2024 led to a large emergency response.

SFRS sent seven fire engines to the scene as well as specialist resources.

The two sisters originally came from Nepal, but settled in Aberdeen with their family when they were children.

An online fundraiser after their deaths later raised thousands of pounds.

Last month, the family asked a law firm to help a search for answers about the blaze.

Speaking for the first time since losing her younger sisters, Susan Subedi, 35, had said the family still did not know the full facts of what happened two years on.

Susan said: "To say we are devastated doesn't come close to describing how we feel.

"It's very hard to describe how losing Shikshya and Aanchal has affected our family. As sisters we were incredibly close.

"They were only in their 20s, they had everything in life to look forward to but that's been taken away from them and from us."

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"We won't laugh or talk or share another family celebration together and sometimes that's too much to bear. I miss them. I will always miss them."

Legal firm Digby Brown said it would seek "all available evidence to help the Subedi family in their pursuit for answers".

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said it received reports of the deaths of the sisters at the time.

A spokesperson said: "Following a thorough investigation the procurator fiscal concluded that no further action was required."

Tribute paid to sisters who died in Aberdeen fire

Two women die following Aberdeen flat fire