Man wey lose three children at once to fire for Rivers tok about di horror of wetin happun

Three pikins from one family don die and three odas dey critical condition for hospital with severe burns after fire outbreak for dia house on Monday 26 September 2022 for Rumuchakara, Obio Akpor local goment area of Rivers State, Southern Nigeria.

Papa of di children, Solomon Ewekwe tell BBC Pidgin say im no know wetin cause di fire wey start around 10pm for night for dia two bedroom flat house wia dem dey live with dia children.

"As we dey sleep, wetin I hear na my wife dey shout fire! Fire! Fire! We rush to rescue my children no way but we succeed to rescue three of dem but we lose three of dem to di fire incident.

I no know wetin actually cause di fire becos I bin don sleep around 8 o'clock but dis fire happun around 9 to 10pm. I no know how e start.

I dey feel pains. I feel like dying with dem, na my neighbour na im help me. I bin wan enta inside di fire or go road make motor hit me but my neighbours hold me." E tok.

Solomon Ewekwe add say one of di pikin wey die for di fire na im niece wey come stay with dem for di holiday period.

"Di three children dey critical condition for hospital now. One of di pikins wey die na my sister pikin wey come stay holiday with us so she decide say she go stay with me di uncle for Port Harcourt and no go back to village and start school hia. So we just register her for school dat Monday wey di fire happen.

I just dey pray God to have mercy and help dem."

Solomon say di incident don affect im wife badly as she sef get small burns and she bin dey admission but di hospital just release her and she dey im younger brother house.

‘Di children bin get homework’

One neighbour wey witness di fire, Adaeze Chima say e fit be say di fire start from di light wey di children take do dia homework as light bin no dey. Im suggest say na candle but di papa say e no kno wetin cause di fire.

She add say na wen di fire dey burn dem na im di children begin shout for dia mother wey make all of dem (di neighbors) rush out and try to fight di fire.

"Na around 9:00pm we hear shout from dia flat. Evribodi rush out see fire for dia house. We no fit enta di house evri wia cover with smoke and fire.

Di mama come tell us say di smallest one dey inside so we try to break di windows with axe to enta rescue di small boy.

Five children bin dey sleep inside di room for di foam - di second son Destiny, di third son Desmond and Chidera, di man younger sister daughter, na dem die for di fire.

But we rescue Delight di first son, and Chile di daughter na dem bin dey shout for dia mother wey make us know about di fire."

She explain say di children mother bin travel and return late dat night around 8:00pm and afta sometime, she go sleep but di children bin complain say dem get homework assignment from school but light no dey.

"E fit be say di candle fall for foam wey dey inside di room wey start di fire so becos dia books dey for di parlour," She tok.

Anoda neighbour, Iheanacho Ikechukwu Stephen say as dem see di fire all of dem rush out to fight di fire and one of dem na im bring axe wey dem use break one side of di window and burglary proof for di room wey di children dey and so dem succeed to rescue di three children wey dem rescue so.

"Wen we break di window to get access to di room. From di window, we see di last born dey shout so one of us bring axe wey we take break di window bring am out di small one.

With di help of one of us, Moses, wey try break di buglary proof we get access to di room di oda children bin dey but e dey too late, three of dem don already die as di fire burn dem but we try rescue two of dem di older children, a boy and girl but dem dey burnt and dem dey hospital now." Na so e tok.

Di three children wey dey receive treatment for hospital be two, eleven and thirteen years old while di ones wey no survive di fire be six, four and two years old.

Di father of di children say e don report di incident to di police.