FAMILY OF SIX PERISH IN PORT HARCOURT HOUSE FIRE

A family of six has been wiped out in a house fire that occurred in the Nigerian city of Port Harcourt. The victims, a couple and their four children perished when their house caught fire while they were asleep in the early hours of Saturday. According to a report in the Sunday Punch, the dead children were three boys and a girl aged 22yrs, 17yrs, 9yrs and 7yrs. Two of their siblings who had traveled because of their exams escaped the horrific fate. Their father was said to be a taxi driver while the mother was a trader. The cause of the blaze that engulfed the eight-apartment-building was not immediately known but the landlord spoke of hearing an explosion. Another eyewitness said that the fire started in the apartment occupied by the unfortunate family before it spread to the rest of the building. Other residents of the property located on New Estate Road, Railway Quarters were able to scramble to safety as they were awake when the fire broke out. The state's police confirmed the incident and said that an investigation was underway.