Three children of the same parents have died following severe burns from the fire that engulfed their room in Ikotun, Egbe, Lagos, on Tuesday.
The children died in a hospital.
A family source told Daily Sun that one of the victims died shortly after they were brought to the hospital.
The source, who identified the victims as Chiamaka, Emmanuel and Chiagozie Ifediba, said they were below 10 years of age.
The fire which started around 2pm was caused by power outage inside their single room at 15 Ikuna Str. Liasu Road, Ikotun-Egbe.
“One died at 11 p.m. on Tuesday and the second died at 12.30 am yesterday, another died in the afternoon said the source, who added that their father was late.
Their mother, Mrs Ngozi Ifediba, was not at home when the fire started.
Mutiu Wasiu, a tenant in an adjacent building said the door to the room was locked when the fire was noticed, adding that the window was forced open before the victims were brought out.
He said the children, who were found unconscious and covered in smoke, were rushed to a nearby hospital in the area.
“It was a terrible experience for me; I see no reason why someone would lock her children inside the house to buy something.
“It is only God that can save the children because the state we found them was not palatable,’’ he said.
A resident, Francis Simon, said the children would have been rescued on time, but their neigbours who were more concerned about saving their property before the fire escalated.
Simon said the fire was eventually put out before the arrival of fire service personnel.
“We managed to put out the fire out with the help of outsiders and passersby,” he said.
Our correspondent, who visited Do-alllars Hospital where the children were taken to, said relatives and sympathisers were discussing the tragedy.
Confirming the fire, Mr Razak Fadipe, Director, Lagos State Fire Service, said the information they received on arrival at the scene was that the victims’ mother locked them in.