Four members of a family have perished following a fire that broke out at their residence on the night of December 23 -24 in the Marouaré neighbourhood in Garoua.

Moungoula Issiaka, a trader, his wife Fadimatou and their two children aged three and five were surprised at their home on the night of December 23 to 24, 2020.

Sources say the fire broke out at about 1am before consuming the four persons even before firefighters could intervene to put out the fire.

“We don’t know exactly the origin of the fire. One of our little brothers who was sleeping in the other room outside heard the noise, got up, came to the central door, it was locked with the padlock inside and he couldn’t open the door to get in and save the situation; ”Amadou Modibo, a relative of the deceased family said.

It was the firefighters who arrived on the scene who were able to destroy the door and contain the flames afterwards. They found the charred bodies of the head of the family and his two children in the living room. The wife’s was in the bedroom.

The Divisional Officer of the Bénoué, Oumarou Amanou Abi and the mayor of Garoua Ousmaila Mohamadou were at the scene in the morning while investigations were immediately ordered to determine the real cause of the fire.

The incident comes just a few weeks after another fire incident that claimed the lives of eight persons; three adults and five children.