
Two children of the same parents were burnt to death in a fire accident that occurred in the Oluwatuyi area of Akure, the Ondo State capital, yesterday.
The victims, Jenson (3) and Jenlite (5), of the same parents, were burnt beyond recognition as neighbours, despite their efforts, were unable to gain access to their room to rescue them.
Sources said the fire incident lasted for about two hours, and it completely razed the room where the children were trapped.
They, however, could not ascertain the cause of the fire incident at the time of filing this report.
According to residents, the children were reportedly locked inside the house by their mother, who had gone to the market and left them unattended for nearly three hours.
It was learnt that it has been the habit of the mother of the children to lock them indoors, whenever she goes out without notifying her neighbours.
Sources in the neighbourhood revealed that the fire was first noticed by a neighbour, though no one initially realised that the children were inside the house.
One of the neighbours, identified as Ibrahim, recounted how they heard the children crying for help from the room.
However, their efforts to extinguish the fire and rescue the children were unsuccessful due to the intensity of the flames.
Ibrahim alleged that evidence suggested their mother might have left a gas stove on before leaving the house. The incident has left neighbours and sympathisers in shock, with many describing the tragedy as devastating.
The father of the children, it was learnt, collapsed upon seeing the charred remains of his children and had to be rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.