Toddler dies in house inferno

A 15-month-old baby died after the thatched house in which it was sleeping caught fire in Mufumbwe.

The baby died on Wednesday around 14:00 hours in Kamabuta area.

North-Western Province Commissioner of Police Hudson Namachila said the child was left in the house with friends at the time the fire broke out while the parents were in the field.

“And when the fire started, the friends managed to escape, but the toddler failed to run and died in the house,” Mr Namachila said.

He said the baby’s body was in Mufumbwe District Hospital mortuary.

The family had been advised to bury the body as there was no foul play.

Meanwhile, an unidentified woman aged between 25 and 30 years died while a 27-year-old man is battling for his life in Solwezi General Hospital after being hit by a speeding vehicle.

Mr Namachila said the accident happened on Wednesday around 06:00 hours near the Solwezi Bridge on the Independence Avenue.

He named the driver as Lausen Muchazi, 27, of Avondale in Lusaka who was driving a Hino light truck registration number BAK 1231 belonging to Zambezi Pineapples.

Mr Namachila said the driver lost control and went off the road due to excessive speed after failing to negotiate the curve.

“And in the process, rammed into the two pedestrians.

The unidentified women sustained fatal head injuries and died on the spot while the man sustained a cut on the head and was rushed to the hospital for treatment,” he said.

Mr Namachila said the drive had since been arrested and charged with causing death by dangerous driving.