A one-year-old baby has been burnt to death in Calabar as a result of a candlelight fire in a thatched house. The incident happened at Eta Agbor area of Calabar Municipality on Oct. 9.
When the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) visited the area, it was observed that the thatched house was completely burnt down.
The mother of the child, Ms. Glory Etim-Akpan, 19, told NAN that her child was sick, and so she went out to a pharmacy in the area to buy drugs and pampers for her.
Etim-Akpan said she left the child, a baby girl, Kate Dickson, at home sleeping, while the candlelight was burning.
“My baby was having cough and catarrh, so I went out to buy drugs for her and pampers. Before leaving the house, I lighted a candle on top of a metal plate in the room.
“I didn’t even get to the pharmacy when I received a call that our house was on fire. It was not up to 30 minutes that I left the house.
“Neighbours around heard my baby crying, but they couldn’t intervene. When I came back, we broke the door and I found out that my baby was already burnt to death.
“Also, I lost all my properties including my certificates. The fire burnt down my apartment completely,” she lamented.
Etim-Akpan said that her life has been shattered because she has nowhere to stay, no food to eat and no clothes to wear.
She appealed to well-meaning Nigerians to come to her aid through financial and material support.
(NAN)
