Couple, Son Die In Mysterious Fire
Pini Bothoko | Monday May 8, 2017 18:00
A woman, together with her six year-old son, were certified dead at the scene, while the husband and their 13-year-old daughter were taken to the hospital with serious injuries. The husband succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.
The husband’s young brother, Moemedi Tsimako, who is also a neighbour, told The Monitor in an interview that he was awakened by screams around 2am on Saturday and on arrival he found the house on fire.
Still shellshocked by what he saw, he said the blaze destroyed the family’s two-roomed house, leaving everything in ashes. He said firefighters and the police spent the whole morning rummaging through the rouble in search of clues. Tsimako said members of the community tried to come to the family’s rescue with buckets of water and soil but failed, as the house’s door and windows were impregnable.
“On arrival I found their elder two children, who were sleeping in a separate house busy trying to destroy the door and windows to rescue their parents, but failed,” Tsimako said.
He said when the firefighters and the police arrived, they found the heavy flames and smoke coming out of the house with the two already motionless.
He expressed concern at the absence of fire stations in Kumakwane, which is covered by Molepolole 60km away.
“There are no fire stations in this area, not even in Gabane and during fire outbreaks like this one, we can only pray to God. Imagine what would have happened if we could have failed to rescue some of them. We would be talking about a major disaster,” he pointed out.
Tsimako narrated that after a long struggle they destroyed one of the windows to rescue the family. “They all got out of the house through that window even those who were already dead. This is a shocking incident because we do not know the cause of the fire hence it has been a very difficult morning for the family.”
He added: “I’m just sad. Overwhelmed. I can’t believe this happened. My brother does not smoke, that house does not have a kitchen and the couple was happy. They did not have any misunderstandings, hence confused as to what could have caused the fire”.
Some villagers cried foul and wanted the police launch thorough investigations. Efforts to talk to the police failed as their phones rang unanswered.