A mother and her four children were burnt to death in the wee hours of Friday when fire gutted their residence at Okochiri community in Okrika Local Government Area (LGA) of Rivers State.
This medium understand that the incident occurred while the family was asleep, although the actual cause of the fire has yet to be ascertained.
It was gathered that the fire was eventually put out through the efforts of community youths who launched a rescue operation after hearing about the incident.
Some neighbours told newsmen that the fire was caused by petrol which was ignited by a spark, but the claim has yet to be verified.
The Commander of the Civilian Joint Task Force in Okrika, Mr. Igwe Godswill, who confirmed the incident, said details were still sketchy.
He said: “We just heard the news this morning about the fire incident. 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 to death.
“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 off and the police had already come to the scene. I believe proper investigation will be carried out.”
Police in Rivers State is yet to issue an official statement in respect to the development.
