MOTHER, FOUR CHILDREN DIE AS FIRE GUTS RIVERS HOME

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By Aishat Momoh. O.

A mother and her four children have died after a fire engulfed their home in Okochiri community, Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The incident occurred in the early hours of Friday.

The fire was reportedly put out by youths in the community before the police arrived at the scene.

Sources in the community said the fire might have been caused by petrol ignited by a spark. However, the cause of the incident had yet to be independently verified as of the time of filing this report.

Confirming the incident in a telephone interview with Channels Television, the Senior Commander of the Civilian Joint Task Force in Okrika, Igwe Godswill, said details of the incident remained sketchy.

Godswill said four children and their mother were found dead after the fire.

“We just heard the news this morning about the fire. There are no proper details about what happened, but when we got there this morning, we saw that about four children had been burnt to death and the wife — a total of five persons,” he said.

“But the police had already arrived and taken proper details of what happened. It is so disheartening that this is happening again in our community.”

He said the fire had been extinguished by the time he and other community members arrived at the scene.

“When we got there this morning, the fire had been put out, and the police had already come to the scene. I believe a proper investigation will be carried out,” Godswill added.

He said the incident was being handled by the police at the Okrika Police Station.

The Rivers State Police Command spokesperson, Blessing Agabe, also confirmed the incident in a chat.

The cause of the fire and other circumstances surrounding the deaths are expected to be established through police investigation.