Early morning blaze claims two young lives
This is all that’s left from a family home razed by fire in the early hours of Saturday at the Tasahe B area of west Honiara.
Two children were killed and the family lost everything.
“This is a real tragedy. Those of us who knew the family are still trying to come to terms with what had happened,” a neighbour told the Sunday Star.
“The couple who owned this home lost two beautiful children and everything they owned,” the neighbour added.
A boy aged 10 and a three-month old baby girl lost their lives when the fire engulfed and razed down their home while their parents were out in town.
An adult who was in the house was reportedly unable to save the two children.
The neighbour said the fire started from a candle that was lit and put in the room where the children were sleeping.
“The adult relative of the couple was sleeping in the living room. He woke up when the smoke and heat were become apparent in the house.
“He tried to force his way into the room the children were sleeping but he could not make it in there due to the heat from the flame,” the neighbour said.
The fire service was called but they arrived when the house was already razed to the ground.
Another neighbour said he saw the couple drove down to town at around 11pm.
“Normally they would return early but on this night, they were out for quite a long time,” the neighbour said.
“I was just closing down my betel-nut market at around 1am when I saw them drove past after their night out without knowing their house was on fire.
“Most people around the neighbourhood were fast asleep and didn’t know anything about the fire.
“It was only when the couple got closer that they noticed their home was on fire. That’s when they screamed and got the attention of neighbours, including myself,” she said.
“I ran down and all of us tried to get into the house but we could not stand the heat as the whole house was by then engulfed by flame.
“We also tried putting out the fire by pouring water using buckets and hose pipes but these were also futile.
“They lost everything, include those two beautiful children,” the woman said.
A close relative of the family the Sunday Star spoke to said it was a sad and unfortunate incident.
The body of the boy was burnt beyond recognition, while that of the baby was completely burnt out.
By BRADFORD THEONOMI