Three Children Burnt To Death

Disaster struck a household at Pease in Bonsomtwe District of the Ashanti Region on Tuesday, when fire engulfed a room and burnt three children to death. The three, including one year old male twins, Atta Panyin and Kakra, and their elder brother, Frank Owusu, who was a little over three years suffered severe burns and died moments after they had been rushed to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH). Their bodies have been deposited at the mortuary for autopsy. The three brothers were said to be alone in their room when it caught fire, but efforts by neighbours to put out the fire proved futile. An eyewitness account indicated that the fire started around 4:30p.m when the mother of the deceased, Sarah Asamoah, had left home to buy some things from the market. According to the account, the father of the deceased, Mr. Akwasi Owusu; a carpenter, was also not in the house. Neighbours rushed to the scene when they detected smoke gushing out from the room and attempted to put out the fire, but it took them a lot of time to do so. Sarah Asamoah returned to witness the disaster after her children had suffered their fate.The Ashanti Regional Fire Commander, Mr. Philip Arhen Mensah, told Daily Graphic that initial investigations revealed that the children had played with matches in the room when their mother was away. He said scratches of the matches were believed to have caused the fire. He pointed out that when fire servicemen from Ejisu reached the scene, sympathisers had already sent the children to the hospital, where they were pronounced dead on arrival.