ABIDJAN, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Five members of the same family, including a couple and their three children aged three, five and seven, were killed in a fire that broke out in the Zinta neighborhood of Oume, in west-central Cote d'Ivoire, between Thursday night and Friday morning, a security source told Xinhua on Friday.
The fire broke out at around 2 a.m. in a shared residential compound, engulfing the family's home.
Drissa Bamba, the owner of the compound, said he discovered the flames upon returning home and alerted other residents, asking them to call for help. Other witnesses said the fire had already reached the roof by the time they realized the scale of the blaze.
Police and gendarmerie officers were alerted and went to the scene to conduct initial investigations, accompanied by a forensic doctor.
An investigation has been launched to determine the exact circumstances of the tragedy and the cause of the fire, which has yet to be established. ■