A Chitungwiza pregnant woman was burnt to death while trying to save essentials, popularly known as preparation, for her unborn child.

Primrose Panganai, 23, of Unit P in Chitungwiza was burnt to death on Monday night following a fire that spread after a suspected gas leak.

Narrating the ordeal, the father of the deceased, Norman Panganai said the gas leak had not been noticed and when Primrose lit a match stick there was a sudden ball of fire engulfing the whole house.

“I came back from work around 7pm and my wife asked Primrose to warm my food in the kitchen, which was also used as a bedroom.

“She did not realise that the gas was leaking and when she lit up the matches the fire started.
“It spread to the washing basket before it burnt the blankets and the bed.

“The fire spread to the whole house but we managed to rescue our little children, who sustained minor injuries.
“Primrose was the first one to get outside but to my surprise she went back trying to take out her bag of preparation,” he said.

He added:
“She was pregnant and she was trying to rescue her baby’s clothes as well but when I saw her I instructed her to get outside and leave everything.
“Since we were all busy I thought she went out but she went on to take her preparation bag but to no avail.

“She was then engulfed by the fire which destroyed the whole house as you can see.”
Panganai said everyone in the house was injured due to the fire.

“Everyone sustained injuries due to this fire and I have injuries on my hands as I was burnt trying to take out my children and also rescuing my wife.
“One of the children was burnt on the leg, honestly it was a horror of my life.”

Some witnesses said that the family could have been keeping petrol in the house which then became a catalyst to spread the fire.
“I think Panganai was keeping petrol in the house, that’s the reason behind this disaster.

“It’s sad that Primrose lost her life while pregnant,” said one neighbour who refused to be named.
Some neighbours said the family did not get enough support.
“We tried to stop the fire using water with the little resources we had.

“We also seek support from the responsible authorities to be readily available in times like these.H-Metro