A three-year-old minor has died in Mombasa’s Mwembe Tayari area due to smoke inhalation following a gas explosion.
According to County Chief Fire Officer Ibrahim Basafar, the minor had been left inside their house unattended by his mother in a block of flats as she went to fetch water.
"The inferno was a result of an unattended gas cooker that exploded. A 24-year-old woman had left tea cooking in her house to fetch water and got into a conversation with her neighbours and forgot about the cooking tea," Basafar said
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"The fire spread from the house’s kitchen to other floors and the minor died due to suffocation," he stated.
Basafar noted that although firefighters responded to the distressed family within a short time, the area was inaccessible.
"The life of the minor would have been saved but due to poor planning in the construction of houses in the area, the fire engine was unable to wade through," he noted
"With innovation from our team, we managed to put out the fire although it was unfortunate that the minor’s life was lost and occupants lost properties during the incident."
He added that the house has been badly damaged to the extent that it needs to be demolished. Already, a county technical team has been deployed to demolish the building in order to avert further disaster.
The minor’s body was taken to the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary.
