Elderly woman dies in Nyeri house fire
Residents of Karogoto village in Nyeri County at the scene of a fire that burnt down a wooden house on January 3, 2017. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
A 78-year-old woman in Nyeri County died Monday night after her house caught fire.
Lucy Wangui Muthoga was in the house with one of her grandchildren, who escaped the blaze unhurt.
Residents of Karogoto village in Karatina said the two were burning pieces cut from tyres and polythene bags to repel safari ants when the wooden house caught fire.
Mathira West OCPD Birgen Kiptoo said the woman was mentally disabled and was not able to get out of the house when it caught fire.
"She was burnt beyond recognition, but her grandchild managed to escape unscathed," he said.
Harrison Munyi, one of the elderly woman's neighbours, said it took them almost two hours to put out the fire.
The Nyeri County fire engine could not access the home because the road leading there was impassable.
The fire engine stopped about 100 metres from the scene and residents had to use buckets to draw water from it to extinguish the fire.
Her body was taken to the PCEA Tumutumu Mission Hospital mortuary.
