Two children of the same parents were on Thursday night consumed in an inferno which engulfed their one-room apartment situated on the top floor of a two-storey block within the Iyaganku police barracks, Ibadan, Oyo State.
One of the kids, a three-year-old boy, Olasunkanmi Maji, reportedly got burnt beyond recognition in the fire outbreak while his sister, five-year-old Aishat Maji, who was rescued with third degree burns and rushed to the hospital, died on Friday morning.
The mother of the children was out at the time of the occurrence and had locked the children in the room with a candle serving as a source of illumination.
The children were reported to have slept as at the time the fire broke out while many believed that the candle caused the fire outbreak.
Fire Service officials were reported to have arrived at the scene of fire incident from Alesinloye Fire station and succeeded in putting out the fire before it could spread to other parts of the two-storey building.
The burnt remains of the boy were found while the girl was quickly rescued. Unfortunately, however, she could not make it as she was reported to have died the following morning.
It was gathered that the father of the deceased, Sergeant Mohammed Maji, was serving at Tede Division in Oyo State as of the time the incident happened, but had arrived Ibadan the following morning.
The Deputy Commissioner of Police, Admistration, Mr Clement Adoda, confirmed the story of the fire outbreak, but said that the police were still investigating the actual cause and would not depend on the candlelight rumour.
