6 family members die in fire

SIX PEOPLE, including four children, burnt to death when their house caught alight while they were asleep.

Two eight-year-old boys, a six-yearold girl, their mother, an infant and their 75-year-old grandfather all died in the house fire in Ganyesa, North West last Wednesday.

The women and her children lived in a shack while the wheelchair-bound elderly man lived in a one-room house in the same yard.

However, the family members were all spending a night in the house when the fire broke out, killing them all.

It’s not known what the cause of the fire was but family members told the police that the door was not working properly, so they shut the door at night with bags of cement and could not open it as a result.

Police are busy trying to determine the cause of the fire.

North West Education MEC Sello Lehari visited the family on Monday and expressed his sadness and grief.

“I am deeply saddened by the incident that happened at Ganyesa.

“It’s such a devastating loss to lose so many souls at once, it’s heartbreaking.

“Children are our treasure and as parents our wish for them is success,” he said.

Lehari added that the department was deeply saddened to lose the pupils, who would have flown the flag of the province up high with their academic excellence.

Three of the children were pupils at Mochware and Seichokelo primary schools.

The incident came as the North West Social Development Department launched its annual Child Protection Week, which runs until Sunday, with the aim of raising awareness of the rights of children.