Three children die in shack fires

Three children died on Tuesday while another was seriously injured in separate shack fires.

In the Oshikoto Region at Onakankunz East, Omuthiya constituency, two children, identified as three-year-old Martha Itana and Gideon Itana, 19 months, burned to death after the hut they were in caught fire.

The incident occurred on Tuesday at about 10:00.

It is alleged that the victims were left in the house with their 18-year-old nephew while their grandmother went to the shops.

According to the police, the nephew heard children screaming and saw that the hut was engulfed in flames.

He tried to rescue the children but was unable to help them. The cause of the fire is unknown.

In Windhoek's Havana informal settlement, a 10-year-old boy identified only as Ndapandula burned to death when a shack caught fire on Tuesday at around 11:00. A five-year-old girl sustained serious burns.

It is alleged that the victim's mother was not at home at the time. According to the police it is believed that the cause of the fire might have been gas.

ELLANIE SMIT