Tragedy struck in Ilorin, Kwara State, on Saturday evening as three children lost their lives to a fire outbreak at the Ogidi area of the capital city.

Leadershipchi gathered that the fire which gutted a storey building was caused by a petroleum explosion resulting from fuel stored inside the residential building.

The spokesperson for the Kwara State Fire Service, Hassan Adekunle, who confirmed the unfortunate incident yesterday, said they received a distress call at about 6:46 p.m. on Saturday and promptly deployed firefighters to the scene of the incident

Adekunle said that the affected structure was a storey building comprising five rooms and six shops, with three of the shops on the ground floor severely damaged by the fire.

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He explained that preliminary investigations revealed that a woman had purchased about 50 litres of petroleum and stored it inside one of the shops where her three children were sleeping.

"Adjacent to the shop, another woman was cooking with charcoal. Sparks from the charcoal fire spread to the area where the petrol was stored, leading to an explosion and the subsequent fire outbreak," he added.

Adekunle explained that the inferno led to the death of the three children, while a passerby who attempted to rescue the victims sustained serious injuries and was rushed to a hospital before firefighters arrived at the scene.

The victims were identified as AbdulRaman Jeje, Islamiya Abdulwahab and Hadizah Raji.

Adekunle said their remains were later recovered and handed over to the Laduba Community chairman, Mr Saadu AbdulRahim.

The director of the Kwara State Fire Service, Alabi Muhammed, described the tragedy as heartbreaking and avoidable.

He commiserated with the bereaved families and the entire Laduba community in the Ogidi area of Ilorin.