A fire outbreak in a building in the Oluwatuyi area of Akure, Ondo State has brunt two siblings, Jelad and Jenson Oluwaranakinse to death.
The children aged five and three respectively were killed in a fire that engulfed their parent’s residence as their mother, Deborah Oluwaranakinse stepped out to buy food for the family.
It was gathered that Deborah had allegedly locked her children in the house in search of food when fire broke out in her absence.
The fire was said to have reduced the house to ashes before operatives of the State Fire Service could arrive at the scene of the incident.
Neighbours who spoke about the fire outbreak said, “When the fire started, the neighbours around made efforts to put it out and rescue the kids, but their efforts were unsuccessful.
“People called the state fire service, but by the time they arrived, things had gone out of hand. The kids had died,” the eyewitness said.
Another resident of the area said that the fire just started suddenly even as neighbours made several attempts to extinguish the flames to save the child.
Speaking on the unfortunate incident, the spokesperson for the Ondo Police Command, Funmilayo Odunlami said an investigation has been launched to ascertain the cause of the fire.
Odunlami said, “The two male children left in the room were choked and burnt. One is Jelad Oluwaranakinse, aged five, and the second is Jenson Oluwaranakinse, aged three.
“Their mother, one Mrs Deborah Oluwaranakinse, locked the two children inside their room and went out to search for food. An investigation has commenced,”
Meanwhile, the charred remains of the boys have been deposited at the mortuary of the University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital, Akure.