Tragedy struck in Shagari Estate, Musan-Okunola Local Council Development Area, LCDA, Lagos State, on Wednesday when a woman, her three children and a neighbour were roasted in an early morning inferno.
The inferno, which started at about 1.15a.m, it was gathered destroyed a three-bedroom flat located in the estate.
Eyewitnesses said one of the victims, simply identified as Aunty Philo raised the alarm, which attracted the attention of other neighbours.
However, before sympathizers could rush to the flat, the fire had reportedly spread to the entire building, and in the process, the roof fell on Philo, burning her beyond recognition.
An eyewitness who would not want his name mentioned said, “We saw Aunty Philo trying to force the burglary proof open but she could not. At that time, we tried to break the wall to rescue her when all of a sudden the roof fell on her.
“When we eventually succeeded in pulling down the burglary proof, we saw roasted members of the family on the floor. We could not do anything again but had to leave because of thick smoke.”
Those who lost their lives in the unfortunate incident have been identified thus; Mrs Anwuzia, who is said to be in her fifties, Ekene (16), Emeka (7) and Nwike (30).
The woman whose husband was said to be away, had reportedly returned from a church programme in Ghana the previous day before she met her untimely death.
Her husband, a Pastor, was said to have travelled to Aba, Abia State for an undisclosed assignment.
Fire service men arrived the scene later and succeeded in putting out the fire, but the harm had already been done.
When contacted, Director, Lagos State Fire Service, Mr Rasaq Fadipe, confirmed the death of five persons, noting that the news of the incident was received at about 1.39 am.
He said, “We had to mobilise a truck of 10,000 water capacity from Ikotun to the scene. On reaching there, the fire was still on. Because of the magnitude, we had to mobilise another truck from Agege with another 10,000 litres to compliment the first one, before the fire was contained.
“Unfortunately, we saw the charred remains of the victims. We saw four of them and later discovered the fifth one. We handed the corpses to policemen who also arrived at the scene shortly.”
The inferno, according to him, was also suspected to have been caused by a candle light, he said, “When we got there, there was no light, which ruled out the possibility of the fire being caused by electrical fault. We suspect it could have been caused by a candle light.”
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