Tragic fire claims lives of two children in Aweil East

AWEIL – A devastating fire swept through a grass-thatched tukuls in Mangok payam, Aweil East county, Northern Bahr el Ghazal state on Tuesday night, resulting in the tragic death of two children.

Local authorities reported that the incident occurred when the mother left the house for a nearby residence.

According to Mangok Payam Police Inspector Major Garang Mayen, the mother entrusted the children, aged around 13 and 11, to their elderly grandmother.

The grandmother, however, left the minors alone in the grass-thatched house as she visited a neighbor seeking tobacco.

Major Mayen explained to Sudans Post that, in the absence of the two adults, a wood fire was left burning inside the tukul to combat the cold. Unfortunately, the wood fire ignited the grass-thatched structure, which was locked by the grandmother, leaving the children trapped inside.

The fire engulfed the tukul, and despite the older child’s attempts to open the door, both children succumbed to the flames.

“It is a house lacking a wall just a grass used as a cover instead of a wall and it is already a grass-thatched tukul. As the older child attempted to flee she felt down, and other boy felt from behind the tukul inside and were consumed by fire to ashes completely,” Major Mayen told Sudans Post yesterday.

The mother, Anguet Agat Aluk, and her mother are currently in police custody as the community grapples with the tragedy and expresses frustration over the perceived negligence.

Payam Administrator Akeen Geng Dut urged the public to exercise caution when using fire, particularly during this season.

He highlighted the dangers associated with children playing with fire and emphasized the importance of clearing houses of flammable materials.

“The mother of the kids and the grandmother will be arraigned in court to determine the verdict,” disclosed Geng.

This unfortunate incident follows a recent fire that ravaged the Maper-Akot-Aru market in Aweil Town earlier this month, resulting in significant financial losses and injuries to individuals attempting to salvage their belongings.