Tragedy struck Thursday night at Comfort Oboh Industrial estate , Kirikiri Town Lagos, after five children were burnt to death in a fire that engulfed a building in the area.

Report said the fire was caused by a lit candle at about 10pm. Residents of the area said the transformer had a spark which threw residents of the area into darkness.

Parents of the deceased, Mr and Mrs Ogbona Augustine who sell local gin around the area , reportedly lit the candle for their children while they were asleep and went back to their shop, locking the children inside.

It could however not be ascertained when the fire started. But report said residents of the area were attracted by smoke that was emanating from the roof of the wooden building. But an eye witness said the alarm was raised by 11pm.

One of the residents who spoke on condition of annonimity explained that “When it started, we all tried to rescue the children by doing all we could but to no avail.

We contacted the fire service. But they arrived late but they could not gain access to the scene because of the tankers parked at Kirikiri. And by the time they came, it was already late”.

Another eye witness claimed there was a bang on the door and the shout of help from within. “That was when we knew there were people inside. But nobody could go near because the fire had already engulfed the building.

At a point, we did not hear the voices again.If the door had not been locked from outside, the children would have escaped.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/12/five-children-burnt-to-death-in-lagos-fire/

there is another thread in the family section