[Mhiz Rebecca]

Lagos – Three children of the same parent on Wednesday died 24
hours after they suffered severe burns from the fire incident that
engulfed their apartment in Ikotun Egbe area of Lagos.
A correspondent who visited the scene gathered that the children died
in a hospital where they were taken for treatment on Tuesday.
A very reliable source of the family said that one of the victims died
shortly after they were brought to the hospital.
The source, who identified them as Chiamaka, Emmanuel and
Chiagozie Ifediba, said they are below 10 years of age.
It said that the fire which started around 2 p.m. on Tuesday was
caused by power outage inside their single room apartment at No.15
Ikuna Str. Liasu Road, Ikotun Egbe.
“ One died at 11 p.m. on Tuesday and the second one died 12. 30
a.m. on Wednesday, ‘’ the source said, adding that their father was
late.
According to the source, their mother, Mrs Ngozi Ifediba, was not at
home when the fire started.
Mutiu Wasiu, a tenant in an adjacent building to the affected house
also told NAN that the door to the room was locked when the fire was
noticed.
He added that the room’s window was forced open before the victims
were brought out.
Wasiu said that the children, who were found unconscious and
covered in smoke, were rushed to a nearby hospital in the area.
“It was a terrible experience for me; I see no reason why someone
will lock her children inside the house to buy something.
“It is only God that can save the children because the state we found
them was not palatable,’’ he said.
Francis Simon, a resident of the area, said that the children would
have been rescued on time, but that their neigbours who were more
concerned about saving their property before the fire escalated.
Simon said that the fire was eventually put out before the arrival of
fire service personnel.
“We managed to put the fire out with the help of outsiders and
passerby,” he said.
Also at Do-alllars hospital where the children were taken for
treatment, relatives and sympathises were seen discussing the
accident.
Confirming the incident, Mr Razak Fadipe, Director, Lagos State Fire
Service, said that the information they received on arrival at the scene
was that the victims’ mother locked them in.
“ She was said to be cooking and left them inside to purchase some
items in a nearby shop when the incident occurred,’’ Fadipe said.
He also said that the children were in critical condition when he
visited the hospital on Tuesday.