Meru couple perish in house fire along with their 2 children in Sunday morning inferno

Couple, 2 children burn to death in Meru

Charles Ouma

April 21, 2019 4:00 PM

Tragedy strikes

File image of a house on fire. A house fire wiped out a family of four on Sunday, April 21, 2019

A couple along with their two children were burnt to death in a house fire in Kathira, Meru county.

The couple, identified as Mr Eric Guantai, 41, his wife Caroline Gakii, 36 were at home with their two children Tony Mwenda, 12, and Christian Karani when their house caught fire in the Sunday Morning incident.

Mr Robert Mwirigi who was among the first people to respond to the distress calls narrated that he was woken up by screams at around 3:30 AM but were were unable to put out the fire.

“We tried to put it out using water but it was too fierce fuelled by the wind. By the time we retrieved them, they had died,” he said.

Members of the public at the scene where a house fire wiped out a family of four on Sunday, April 21, 2019 Pulse Live Kenya

Witnesses recounted that the wind fanned the fire which spread to other areas of the timber house, reducing property of unknown value to ashes.

The bodies of the deceased were found huddled together with the parents holding on to the children in what appeared to be an attempt by them to rescue the children.

The bodies of the deceased were taken to Consolata Mission Hospital mortuary.

Two vehicles were also partially burnt in the inferno.

“We pushed one of the vehicles as fire engulfed it. It is by luck that we were able to remove it. Another one was also partly burnt,” recounted Mr Mwirigi.

Charles Ouma