How Fire Killed Rivers Woman And 3 Children – Police

The Rivers State Police Command has said that a mother and her three children were killed in an inferno at Okochiri community in Okirika local government area of the state on Friday. The clarification followed conflicting figures over the death toll from the incident from various angles.

Police spokesperson Blessing Agabe clarified this in a statement in Port Harcourt yesterday.
Agabe said: “There was a fire incident in which a woman and her three children tragically lost their lives, while others sustained injuries.”

She said property estimated at thousands of naira were also destroyed in the inferno, adding that investigation was ongoing to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the incident and determine the cause of the fire outbreak.

About a fortnight ago, no fewer than 37 persons lost their lives after inhaling pungent odour from a tampered pipeline at a jetty in the same Okrika axis.

The woman and her children were burnt to death in a fire following in a fire that engulfed their house but was later put out through the efforts of community youths.

Although sources said the fire was caused by petrol which was ignited by a spark, the cause had not been independently verified at the time of filing this report.

Confirming the incident in a telephone interview with newsmen, the Commander of the Civilian Joint Task Force in Okrika, Igwe Godswill, said details of the incident were still sketchy.

“We just heard the news this morning about the fire. There are no proper details as to what happened, but when we got there this morning, we saw that about four children and their mother, a total of five persons, were burnt and died.

“But the police had already arrived and taken proper details of what happened. It is so disheartening that this is happening again in our community.

“When we got there this morning, the fire had been put out and the police had already come to the scene. I believe proper investigation will be carried out,” he said.