Seven die in Lagos fire incident

A FAMILY of father, mother, grandmother, a three-week-old baby and three other children, yesterday died in a fire, which trapped them in their house at 23, Michael Ogun Street, Obele, Lawanson area of Lagos State.

Rescuers, who found the mutilated bodies of the victims in a room, said the deceased may have died of suffocation before the raging fire got to them.

Wedged under a window by the roof, which had fallen on his back, the children’s father was the last to be removed and taken to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) where he was confirmed dead.

Eyewitness, Mr. Ojo Saheed, said that the fire, which started at about 12:30 a.m., was not noticed until smoke started coming from the ceiling.

Ojo said that residents battled to put out the fire without knowing that people were trapped inside the apartment.

Meanwhile, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in the South-West Region, Ibrahim Farinloye, who confirmed the incident, said a six-year-old boy was rescued alive.

He said: “It was a tragic situation. It involved father, mother, grandmother, a baby and a girl and two children were consumed by fire this morning at No. 23 Michael Ogun Street, Obele, Lawanson.

“A boy of about six years old was rescued alive.”