Child dies whilst other hospitalized after inferno – Police
By Staff reporter
A two-year-old child has died and another hospitalized after they suffered severe burns in an inferno when the house they were sleeping in caught fire in Chaisa compound in the early hours of today.
Police Public Relations officer Esther Katongo says the deceased identified as Danniel Kaputula suffered first degree burns around 03:20hours today whilst his sister Alice Kaputula aged 10 has been hospitalized.
Katongo said this in a statement today, outlining that the incident happened when the father, Royd Kaputula, (a security guard) left his wife Barbra Phiri with the children at home on 31st December, 2018 at 16:00 hours.
“Preliminary investigations have indicated that Barbra Phiri, the mother of the children has a tendency of locking the children to go out to drink beer whenever the husband was in night shift. Today around 03:20 hours, one of the neighbours was alerted by distress calls from people who were shouting fire and when he went out, he found people trying to put off the fire,” the statement reads.
She said members of the public managed to put off the fire but discovered that Alice was severely burnt while Danniel was burnt to death on a chair.
“According to witnesses on the scene their mother was not in the house when the incident happened and informed the police who arrived on the scene that it appeared the deceased died whilst seated on the chair and it is suspected that he might have slept on the chair and was chocked in deep sleep,” she said.
The house is not connected to power and it is suspected that the mother could have left the candle burning when she went out.
Phiri has been apprehended and detained while the body of the deceased has been deposited at UTH mortaury.
