Three children die after fire breaks out at their home

Three children died on Sunday after a fire broke out in their house at Gacagori village, in Runyenjes, Embu County.

According to area Assistant Chief Washington Ireri, the three children aged 14, 10 and 7, were sleeping when the house caught fire at around 3am.

Mr. Ireri added that the three, who were alone in the house, tried to escape but the metal door of the bedroom was too hot for them to open it, causing them to suffocate to death in a pile at the door.

The children; Careen Muthoni, 14, Allan Nyanga, 12, and 7-year-old Angel Teresa had been left under their grandmother’s watch as their mother was away attending to family matters.

The grandmother said she was woken by screams of help, and ordered the electricity to be switched off but it was a case of too little to late as the children had already passed out.

Careen was in Class Eight and had arrived home for mid-term two days ago, while Allan and Angel were in Class Five and Class Two respectively.

The children’s aunt, Mercy Karimi, said when the three were rescued and rushed to hospital, they had no burn injuries but were pronounced dead on arrival.

Allan and Angel were confirmed dead at Runyenjes Level Four Hospital, while Careen was pronounced dead at Embu Level Five Hospital, where she had been transferred with the hope that she would survive.