Family of 6 perishes in midnight inferno

Six members of a family, including four children and the two parents, all lost their lives to a midnight fire in the Old Town axis of Port Harcourt on Saturday.

Though nobody could ascertain the cause of the fire, sources said there were rumours that it might have been triggered by wrong electrical connections

According to the landlord of the No 17, New Estate road, Railway quarters, all they heard was a loud explosion, adding that what followed next were balls of fire.

They said most residents ran out of their apartments in confusion, adding that the explosion probably came from the apartment of the deceased family members.

According to witnesses around the scene of the incident, those affected in the fire were three boys, a girl and their parents, putting the ages of the children at 20, 17, nine and seven years.


They added that two other members of the family, who were also children of the deceased parents, were not at home when the incident occurred as they reportedly relocated from home to write the ongoing West African School Certificate (WASCE).

Neighbours said the father of the children was a taxi driver while the wife, who also perished in the sad incident was a petty trader.

Landlord of the compound who did not want his name in print   could not hold back tears, saying he wished the lives were not lost in the fire.

“If the fire had only consumed the building, leaving the lives, we would all have been consoled. But losing a family of six is a heavy loss”, he wailed.

When reached, the spokesperson of the state police command, Angela Agabe, confirmed the incident, adding that she was still awaiting details.