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A family of six comprising the mother, three children, a relative and a housemaid were burnt to death in a fire that broke out in their home at Ibrahim Taiwo Road, Jos, Plateau State. The father of the home was away on duty.
According to residents living in the compound with the victims – the Araf family, the incident occurred in the early hours of Saturday, shortly after power supply was restored to the area following an outage in the night before.
A Channels Television’s report revealed that the fire started from an electric surge which aided the explosion of a gas cylinder in the house. The victims were trapped by the fortified security barricade in the house which has only one entrance.
All occupants of the two bedroom apartment were burnt beyond recognition before men of the Fire Brigade Service and residents could help.
The victims have been buried in line with Muslim rites.