Residents of Ijorgbor Street, Upper Sokponba Road in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area of Edo state were on Sunday terrified when an unexplained inferno razed down a bungalow killing a 5 year-old boy.
Neighbours and eye witnesses wondered what may have ignited the fire because the building was since discounted from power supply by Benin Electricity Distribution Company, BEDC.
It was learnt that there was a generator and a cooking stove in the house but it couldn’t be confirmed if that was the remote cause of the inferno.
According to an eye witness, Omoye Oriameh, the intensity of the fire prevented some residents from rescuing the little boy who was trapped in one of the rooms in the building.
Oriameh who noted that they heard the children cry for help through the window, said one of the neighbors had used a axe to break down the door to rescue one of the child who is currently receiving treatment in the hospital while the other was stuck inside one of the rooms.
Oriameh stated that the Fire Service came late when the fire had completely razed down the building.
“They were two kids inside the house, they were shouting and we could hear their shout from the window. One guy from this house took axe broke the lavas and he was able to bring one of the kids out but he was unable to bring out the other one because he was inside and the fire caught up with him”. She stated.
One of the neighbors who gave his name as Osamudiamen Edobor, said it was shocking for the parents to lock their children in their apartment, only for one of them to die.
“They have stove and generator in that room. The man was cooking in the room. It is sad that one of the children died,” Edobor said.
It was also learnt that the child who narrowly escaped the inferno has been transferred to an Intensive Care Unit at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, UBTH for further treatment.
When contacted, the state police command spokesman, DSP Moses Nkombe, said he was yet briefed on the incident.
