Fire guts NBC staff units, claims lives of two children

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The fire at NBC Five Mile. Photo: supplied

By LINA KEAPU

AT least six staff of the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) lost their properties worth thousands of kina in a fire that took two units of a four-unit property leaving two children dead along Tanatana Street in Boroko – Port Moresby last Friday.

The burning of these units has affected eight families who occupy the building.

Staff and families who reside in the NBC compound said the fire started from one of the rooms on the ground level. The cause of the fire is unknown at the moment however investigations are currently underway.

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The fire started at around 2pm in the afternoon with two little children trapped inside.

The children that were found dead after firefighters at the scene tried their outmost best to put off the fire and save them said the building was rundown. This was also confirmed by NBC staff who live there and have blamed the management for negligence.

Firefighters putting off the smoke after the bodies of the two children were taken away to the Port Moresby General Hospital Mortuary. Photo: supplied

The father of the deceased children is a senior archivist with the PNG’s oldest radio station. The kids were with a female tenant in the neighbouring room at the time of the fire while the mother was in the bathroom doing laundry.

It is believed that the kids were taken into the woman’s room to watch movies. Apparently the woman went outside leaving the kids inside and after few minutes realized that there was smoke coming from her room.

Firefighters from the Boroko Fire Station rushed to the scene after seeing thick smoke from a distance and with haste started putting off the flames with assistance from tenants there but the building had collapsed from the fire leaving the two kids trapped inside.

The mother of the deceased kids wept in great regret while the father who was at work rushed home to search for his two kids with firefighters, police and ambulance officers on site.

The search continued until dusk when the two kids were discovered at a corner in the room. Parents, relatives and bystanders openly wept for the two innocent lives that were burnt to death.

The bodies were taken to the Port Moresby General Hospital and are in the morgue now.

The deceased are from a mixed parentage of West Papua and Mailu in Central province.

5 COMMENTS

  1. Charge the NBC management and put them off payroll for negligence of a run down state property. The lives lost and fire would not have happened if the management have done some maintenance.
    This is really bad.

  2. The building was condemned by ﹰNﹰCﹰﹰDﹰC health division some years back for being a fire hazard and unfit for human habitation under ﹰPublic ﹰHeealth ﹰAct.The ﹰNﹰBﹰC management failed to comply which has resulted in such situation.

  3. If the house is condemned by the authority, why continue to live there. Your family is important. There are plenty of rental properties here in the city. GOD bless those innocent soul.

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