A fire swept through an unlicensed orphanage outside Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince, killing 15 children, a local judge told AFP on Friday. The building - which had not been authorized to operate as an orphanage since 2013 - housed about 66 children, said Raymonde Jean Antoine.

The fire in Kenscoff - a town of 50,000 south of the capital - began shortly after 9:00 pm Thursday (0200 GMT Friday), she said. Two children died in the blaze and 13 others died at a local hospital as a result of smoke inhalation, the judge added. The cause of the fire and the victims' ages were not immediately known.

The two-story building was in a state of complete disrepair, with bunk beds - some in deplorable condition - crammed into small rooms, a cramped staircase and only one usable exit door, an AFP reporter saw.