By Dubem Ogbuo
A mother and her three children have died in a tragic fire incident at Okochiri Community in Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The incident reportedly occurred in the early hours of Friday, throwing residents of the community into mourning.
The cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained as of press time, although youths of the community were said to have helped put out the inferno.
The Commander of the Civilian Joint Task Force in Okrika, Igwe Godswill, who confirmed the incident, said details surrounding the tragedy were still sketchy.
Godswill said he and members of his team arrived at the scene and found the charred remains of the victims, while the police had also arrived and commenced preliminary inquiries.
He said, “We just heard the news this morning about the fire. There are no proper details as to what happened, but when we got there this morning, we saw that about four children and their mother, a total of five persons, were burnt and died.
“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.
“When we got there this morning, the fire had been put out and the police had already come to the scene. I believe proper investigation will be carried out.”
However, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Rivers State Command, ASP Blessing Agabe, confirmed that four persons, a woman and her three children, died in the incident.
Agabe said other persons sustained injuries, while property worth thousands of naira was destroyed in the inferno.
She said, “There was a fire incident in which a woman and her three children tragically lost their lives, while others sustained injuries. Property estimated at thousands of naira was also destroyed in the inferno.
“Investigation is ongoing to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the incident and determine the cause of the fire outbreak.”
