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Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau
A five-year-old girl died, while two others were severely burnt when their house in Beitbridge, allegedly used to stock petrol, caught fire on Monday afternoon. The infant succumbed to the wounds she suffered in the inferno late on Wednesday. Sources close to the case said the house caught fire when one of the victims was preparing a meal in the same room packed with petrol.

“One of the victims was preparing a meal using an electric stove, while a suspected fuel dealer was transferring petrol from a bigger tank into two-litre containers for resale. There was an electric spark from the stove which illuminated the petrol and the house caught fire,” the source said. Two male occupants, aged 17 and 23, were also affected, but managed to escape. Fire fighters from Beitbridge Town Council put out the fire. Police officer commanding Beitbridge District Chief Superintendent Francis Phiri said he was still to get information on the incident. Beitbridge Town Council spokesperson Mr Raniel Ndou said the three victims suffered different degrees of burns and were admitted at Beitbridge District Hospital.

“We are yet to get a full report on the incident, though indications are that the house was being used for illegal fuel deals. Let me reiterate that reselling fuel or its storage at houses, apart from being illegal, is dangerous to human lives. We are worried by the continued loss of lives due incidents related to illegal fuel sales or storage,” he said. Mr Ndou said though they had cleared many illegal fuel dealers from the streets, there were still a few defiant fuel vendors in the town. He said they were engaging the police and other stakeholders for a lasting solution to illegal fuel dealings in the town’s residential areas.