A mother and her four children have reportedly died in a fire outbreak at their residence in Okochiri community, Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The incident occurred on Friday morning, with the cause of the fire yet to be established.
A source who spoke anonymously alleged that the fire started when someone attempted to transfer petrol into a jerrycan, causing the product to ignite. The source also suspected that the fuel might have been contaminated.
Confirming the incident, the Commander of the Civilian Joint Task Force in Okrika, Igwe Godswill, said details remained sketchy but confirmed that five people were found dead at the scene.
“There are no proper details as to what happened. But when we got there, we saw that about four children and their mother, a total of five persons, were burnt and died,” Godswill said.
He added that local youths had already put out the fire before his team arrived.
Godswill described the incident as tragic and called for a thorough investigation to determine what caused the fire.
However, the Rivers State Police Command gave a different casualty figure.
The police spokesperson, Blessing Agabe, said a woman and three of her children died in the incident, while other occupants of the building sustained injuries.
She added that property worth thousands of naira was destroyed in the fire.
“Yes, there was a fire incident in which a woman and her three children tragically lost their lives, while others sustained injuries,” Agabe said.
She disclosed that an investigation had commenced to determine the immediate and remote causes of the fire.
A video from the scene showed the building severely damaged, with a woman complaining about the cramped nature of the structure.
Authorities are expected to establish the exact number of victims and the circumstances surrounding the fire as the investigation progresses.