‘My sons ran into the burning house to take their bicycles’
SHARJAH — The father of two boys who burnt to death in a fire on saturday, said the children managed to come out of the house soon after the fire broke out, but then ran back into the house to retrieve their bicycles.
Mohammad arfan, father of nine-year-old mohammad salman and seven-year-old mohammad adnan, told khaleej times that the fire erupted in the backyard of the house and soon spread to the nearby room. The house, in al ghafya area, was gutted in the fire on saturday afternoon.
The sharjah police are still investigating the cause of the fire, said an official on monday.
Arfan, who works at a driving institute, said he was away at his workplace when the fire started. his wife was preparing the children for an examination inside the room. “she just went outside the room for a moment and then heard an explosion. suddenly, flames and smoke filled the house.”
He said the mother and the children managed to escape from the house after seeing the flames. “all my relatives inside the house came out. later, one of the small children told us that after coming out, my sons went inside to get their bicycles which were kept in the backyard. my wife thought that they were still outside the house, with the crowd.
“I was at work when the incident happened. when i returned home, i saw the crowd. my wife was standing there with my two daughters and i asked her where the boys were. she told me that she couldn’t see them. i was shocked to hear from the firefighters that they found the children’s bodies in the backyard.”
Source of fire
Arfan said he had no idea about the cause of the fire as it erupted outside the house. however, an eight-yearold girl who lives in the neighbourhood told khaleej times that she was inside the house with the boys and their mother at the time of the incident. she said the mother went to the rest room and then a three-yearold girl came in and told her that the Boys were playing in the backyard. “suddenly i saw the fire and i ran away,” the girl said. but arfan said it could not be true as his wife was with the boys when the fire started.
Rozyana, arfan’s wife, said she was helping her sons with their studies when the fire broke out. pregnant with their next child, she was at the women’s mourning tent on monday evening and yet to come out of shock.
“I just went to wash my hands while teaching my sons. then i heard a loud explosion and smoke filled the place. I looked for my sons, but could not see them in the room. i thought that they went out.”
Arfan received a call on sunday from the springdale indian school, where the boys were studying. “the teachers asked about my sons attending the exams, which started on sunday,” he said.
“I brought my children to the uae six years ago when salman was three years old and adnan was one and a half.”