Two children die in house fire in Gumare

Boniface Keakabetse | Tuesday September 13, 2016 16:10

Officer Commanding Police district No 5, Superintendent Peter Gochela said the incident happened at Bothatogo ward around midnight.

He said the children were sleeping with their 66-years-old grandmother inside a three-bedroomed house. He said there were six people inside the house that included an eight-year-old, a 10 months baby and a US Peace Corp volunteer who escaped with minor to severe injuries.

Gochela said three have been admitted at Gumare Primary Hospital while the US citizen who escape with minor injuries, was treated and discharged.

Gochela said after the police received the report they rushed to the scene and found that some of the family members had already escaped from the burning house. He said because there is no fire brigade in Gumare and the entire Okavango sub district, the police with the assistance of members of the public, battled the fire using fire extinguishers, water and soil.

Gochela said preliminary suspicions are that the fire was caused by an electrical fault, but he was quick to point out that investigations into the incident are underway.

At the time of going to press, plans were underway to send an expert to Gumare to do thorough investigation into the incident.

Mmegi has learnt that a family member who slept in a different house in the same yard discovered the incident.

Apparently he had gone out to drink water at a standpipe outside the yard when he discovered the fire. 

It is understood that when the disaster happened, the mother to the children was sleeping in a different yard opposite the one where the incident took place.