Fire kills mother and daughter, mother’s brother in Bairro Maxaquene “C” – Maputo

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Fire kills mother and daughter, mother’s brother in Bairro Maxaquene “C” – Maputo

12:34 CAT | 12 Feb 2020

Photo: O País

Tragedy in the city of Maputo! Three members of the same family lost their lives in a fire that broke out in a home in Bairro Maxaquene C on Monday morning.

A candle in the mother and daughter’s room has been pinpointed as the cause of the fire.

Once upon a time on a rainy Maputo afternoon. Was this rain such a blessing? Not even the water that flooded of Maputo were able to stop the fury of a fire that consumed everything, destroying lives and dreams.

When our reporting team arrived at the residence, the scene was of burnt walls, damaged appliances, blood on the floor; in short, everything destroyed – an authentically tragic scenario.

Thirty-six-year-old Laurinda Nhamussua, her daughter Luisinha Laurinda (8 years old) and Januário Nhamussua (28 years old) were at home.

Apparently, the fire was caused by a candle in the mother and daughter’s bedroom, the room having no electricity. But witnesses say that when mother and daughter noticed the fire they fled to the next room, where Januário slept. But smoke prevented them finding the exit.

Cristina Alberto lives in the ‘dependencia’ [‘annex’] attached to the main house. She told O País that she did not notice the fire even after she woke up.

“When I left I didn’t notice anything strange,” she said. “After some time – around 8:00 a.m. – I went to knock on the door and no one answered. I thought it was the result of the weather, because people tend to sleep more when it rains. As time went by and no one woke up, I took the initiative to approach the window and I realised that there was smoke inside. That’s when I panicked and looked for help,”

Julião Salvador, another neighbour, said that there was no indication that there had been a fire in the building. “When I was called (around 11:00 a.m.), I didn’t notice anything strange because there was no evidence of fire on the outside of the house,” he said.

“But when we approached the window, then, yes, we saw that something was wrong. We broke one of the windows and saw a lot of smoke inside. We tried to break the door down, but that was too difficult, so we chose to get in from the top of the house.”

“One of the victims’ brothers removed a zinc sheet from the roof and realised what a tragedy had taken place. He went in and came out of the main door, crying. I was afraid to go in,” the witness said. “We ran to call the head of block [chefe de qurteirão] who went in. When we entered, we found them all lying down, the child under the bed. It was shocking,” he finished sadly.

According to other witnesses, the bodies did not show any sign of burns, which strengthens the thesis that they died from smoke inhalation. The event left the neighbourhood in shock and speechless. Having no explanation for such a tragedy, the family sought strength in the power of God through prayers.

The bodies were removed from the residence at around 4:00 p.m. by agents of the Criminal Investigation Service and taken to the morgue at Maputo Central Hospital.

By Raúl Massingue

Source: O País