According to the police, the fire broke out in the four-storey house of Hanuman Das Dangol after a cooking stove of Dev Kala Magar, 50, who was living in rent, exploded while cooking dinner. Dev Kala hailed from Bhaluwang in Morang district.[break]
She couldn´t escape from the room located on the third floor, but her blind husband was able to escape soon after he noticed the fire, Police Inspector Mim Bahadur Lama of Janasewa Police told Republica.
The other two children who lost their lives have been identified as Sanjeev Siwakoti, 3, and Rajeev Siwakoti, 5, sons of Rajkumar Siwakoti, originally from Sunkhani-7 of Dolakha District. Police said that the two children were locked in the fourth floor of the house by their parents to stop them from coming out of the house. The parents of the deceased kids informed the police that they had gone out to work, locking the room from outside. The parents sell momos close to the home, Inspector Lama said.
The police and firefighters had reached the spot at around 7:00 pm. But the three were burnt to death before the rescue team reached the spot, Inspector Lama said. The house was completely engulfed in flames by the time firefighters reached the home. It took the firefighters about half an hour to extinguish the fire, he said.
It was difficult to put out the fire because the house was very old and made of mud, he said, adding, even the force of water used to extinguish the fire could have damaged the house. According to the police, 75 percent of the house has been damaged by the fire but the actual loss is yet to be estimated.
Citing locals, police said that when the stove burst, only four people were inside the house with some just about to enter the home. “As I realized there was fire in the house, I ran out and called my wife. But she was confused and couldn´t escape,” Dev Kala´s husband told the police.
The bodies of the deceased have been sent to the TUTH Hospital for post mortem.
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