A late-night fire has claimed the lives of two children and rendered dozens of residents homeless after sweeping through a cluster of makeshift buildings in the Rumuola area of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Rivers State.
The inferno, which broke out around 10 p.m. on Sunday, destroyed an entire shanty settlement behind the Captain Elechi Amadi Polytechnic, displacing no fewer than 27 families.
Eyewitnesses said the fire started in a room where a woman, whose identity was withheld, had left food cooking on a stove before stepping out to buy ingredients. She reportedly locked the door with her four children inside — two asleep and two awake — when the fire erupted.
A resident, Edidiong, who witnessed the incident, said the flames spread rapidly through the wooden structures.
“The fire started from the woman who lost her two children. She was cooking at about 10 p.m., and the stove was still on. She locked the door to go and buy ingredients.
By the time she returned, the buildings were already on fire,” he said.
According to him, the older children attempted to rescue their younger siblings but fled because the heat became unbearable, leaving the two younger ones trapped in the flames.
By the time the fire was extinguished, nothing was left of the makeshift settlement, and the two younger children had been burnt to death.
The Public Relations Officer of the Rivers State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed the incident, saying the victims were aged nine and five.
“From the situation report I received, the children were aged nine and five years. We have begun an investigation to determine the cause of the fire.
The mother has been invited for questioning as part of the process,” she added.