A fire incident has been reported in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital at No. 33, Ntia Street, off Ekpri Nsukara. Reports say that the fire claimed the lives of six children and one woman.

An eyewitness, Ekemini Obot told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that his wife noticed the fire at about 2 AM when she came out to urinate and raised alarm. He however said that the victims died before they could be rescued.

He also said that the police and fire fighters came to the scene, but were rather late.

Confirming the incident, the state Director of Fire Service, Ndarake Ukpe, said, “My commander has just informed me, but he has not given me details. We are investigating the cause of the incident. The commander said he saw four corpses in the wreckage. We really sympathise with the family on the incident.”

Ukpe also said that the residents of the area could not reach the fire service on time because they did not have their phone numbers.