BRUTAL BLAST
Mother and sons escape house explosion
A mother and her two sons escaped death by a whisker on Sunday morning when a huge explosion at their rented home in Area L blasted one of the houses’ walls clean.
Four days later, the charred remains of a sofa, television and other household items lay scattered haphazardly across the yard. Shards of glass from shattered windows and bricks reduced to rubble complete the sorry scene; it looks as if a bomb has hit!
According to Central Police’s newly-appointed Station Commander, Mogomotsi Kesupile, the incident occurred at around 9am. “The matter was reported to us by the family’s neighbour, who heard a loud bang. When he peeped out, he saw the wall of the house collapsing!” narrated the Superintendent.
Officers arrived on the scene to find the occupants, a 40-year-old Zimbabwean woman and her two sons, aged nine and 12, badly injured.
“They were rushed to Nyangabgwe Hospital where the younger son was treated and discharged. The other two remain bedridden but are in a stable condition and expected to make a full recovery,” Kesupile told The Voice on Wednesday morning.
Although the police boss revealed both the Fire Brigade and the Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) have been engaged, he admitted investigations are yet to uncover the source of the blast. “We are still to take a statement from the woman; maybe she might know what could have caused the inferno,” added the puzzled top cop.
While the cause remains a mystery for now, Kesupile urged the public to be extremely careful when using either gas or electric appliances.
“Stoves have to be checked after cooking to make sure they are off. Phones should be unplugged after use, candles blown out when going to bed and children supervised when using volatile things,” he advised.