Children burnt to death in Mt Hagen

By JAMES APA GUMUNO

TWO children were burnt to death on Wednesday night at Last Warakum within Mt Hagen city while six others escaped the inferno at a home.

It was reported that the incident happened in the night when their parents, the owners of the house, were out leaving their four children to sleep with another couple and their four children.

It was alleged that the fire started from a candle lit inside the bedroom of the couples.

The other couple sleeping with their four children inside another bedroom woke up because of the heat and left the house with their children after realising that the house was on fire. 

However, the four children whose parents were out, were still in the house when they left. 

Later, two older children of the four escaped leaving the two younger ones. 

An eye witness, Joachim Tembo, said that he was on his way home after a prayer meeting with others at Warakum when the incident happened.

He said the fire started around 9pm and quickly spread completely burning the house down adding that it was hard for him and others at the scene to go inside and save the two small boys because the whole building was in flames.

He said they tried to put out the fire by cutting banana trees and throwing them on top of the roof but this did not help.

Tembo said there was no water supply nearby to put out the fire and they watched helplessly while the fire burnt the bush material house down. 

He said the remains of the two children were taken to the Mt Hagen Hospital morgue later that night.

He said the deceased were from Enga.

A staff at the Mt Hagen General Hospital confirmed the incident yesterday.