A 29 year-old man, Chipiliro Chimkwita and his wife Fazida Chimkwita, 22, have died after their house was accidentally gutted by petrol fire in Dedza district.
The incident occurred on July 27, 2023 at Kachule Village.
It is reported that Chimkwita was involved in an illegal business of selling Petrol in small volumes.
However, at around 21:00 hrs on the said date, he was refilling Petrol from a 20-litre jerrican while warming himself using a charcoal stove nearby.
Suddenly, the heat from the charcoal stove caused the jerrican to catch fire and it exploded.
The Police from Njonja Police Unit together with medical personnel visited the scene of incident where postmortem revealed that the death was due to suffocation, secondary to severe burns.
The wife Fazida sustained injuries on the legs and she was rushed to Kamuzu Central Hospital where she was admitted.
She later died during the night of July 30, 2023 while receiving treatment.
They both hailed from Kachule village in Traditional Authority Kachere in Dedza district.
Police in the district are advising people to immediately stop storing dangerous contraband like Petrol in either jerricans or bottles within their homes.
