Death of Four Nigerian Siblings... "Suspected Power Strip Fire"

Four Siblings Dead, 11 Residents Injured with Minor Wounds
No Suspicion of Crime... Forensic Examination Underway

At around 3:28 a.m. on the 27th, a fire broke out on the second floor of a villa in Seonbu-dong, Danwon-gu, Ansan-si, Gyeonggi-do, resulting in the deaths of four Nigerian children.

The fire is preliminarily believed to have started from a power strip connected to a wall outlet near the villa entrance.

The fire department deployed 23 firefighting vehicles and 59 personnel, successfully extinguishing the fire around 4:16 a.m., about 40 minutes later. However, according to Yonhap News on the same day, an 11-year-old girl, a 4-year-old girl, a 7-year-old boy, and a 6-year-old boy died.

It was revealed that all of them were siblings. The youngest, a 2-year-old girl, reportedly evacuated with their parents.

Their parents sustained burns while evacuating and are receiving treatment at a hospital.

At the time of the fire, the parents discovered the flames rising in the living room and evacuated their youngest daughter, but it is presumed they were unable to rescue the other children in time.

Initial ignition presumed at a power strip connected to a wall outlet near the entrance

Villa fire scene in Danan-gu, Ansan-si, Gyeonggi-do.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The Southern Gyeonggi Police Department's forensic team conducted a joint inspection of the fire scene with the fire station for about three hours starting at 8:50 a.m. that day. In a Q&A session with reporters, they stated, "The fire initially broke out on the living room floor adjacent to the entrance door."

It was confirmed that a TV and refrigerator were connected to the power strip at the entrance. At present, the police believe the most likely cause of the fire was an electrical short circuit or other electrical factors involving these devices or wiring.

The four deceased siblings were all found lying in a room. There were no special external injuries, and it is presumed they died from suffocation.

A police official explained, "Due to severe damage at the scene, it is difficult to determine whether the children attempted to escape. We plan to request an autopsy from the National Forensic Service to investigate the exact cause of death."

Father of five siblings came to Korea 15 years ago and made a living as a scrap dealer

Four Nigerian children who died in a fire at a villa in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, are being jointly investigated by police, firefighters, and other officials at the scene on the morning of the 27th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

In this accident, 11 others were slightly injured, including three other Nigerians, two Uzbeks, and one Russian. It was reported that 37 residents living in the same building evacuated on their own.

The area is known for having a concentration of foreign workers, with the Korean-Russian Cultural Center nearby. The neighborhood is mainly inhabited by Koryo-saram (ethnic Koreans from the former Soviet Union), as well as many people of Uzbek and Russian nationality.

The fire occurred in a multi-family house with a floor area of 137㎡, approved for use in 1994, where about 40 residents, mostly foreigners, lived.

The first floor of the building is a semi-basement structure, so the second floor where the fire broke out is effectively the first floor.

The father of the five siblings, in his mid-50s, came to Korea 15 years ago and made a living working as a scrap dealer. It is reported that he collected scrap and exported it to Nigeria. The family moved from Wongok-dong to Seonbu-dong one or two years ago and lived in a rented home while raising their five children.

The family was confirmed not to be undocumented immigrants. However, as foreigners, they are reportedly excluded from government institutional support such as welfare benefits.