KUWAIT CITY, March 8: An Ethiopian housemaid has been detained for investigations over the death of eight children in a fire that broke out in a house in Sabah Al-Salem area. Search is ongoing for a Ghanaian housemaid who disappeared after the incident.

According to security sources, the eight children who died in the fire were buried yesterday after Asr time, and several members of the public offered their condolences to the family of the victims. Many people also offered their condolences via social media.

The sources explained that the fire broke out in the house when the children’s parents were not at home. The oldest child was 13 years of age and the youngest was eight months old. The deceased children were four boys and four girls. Fire-fighters had rescued the eight children before extinguishing the fire, and the children were taken to the nearest hospital. However they later succumbed to their injuries. Fire-fighters and securitymen have launched investigations to determine the cause of the fire. They collected evidences from the location to conduct these investigations.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the house was deliberately set on fire using a lighter, but this is yet to be confirmed. Securitymen arrested an Ethiopian housemaid who said during interrogations that she escaped from the house when the fire broke out, adding that the other housemaid, a Ghanaian citizen, ran away. Investigations have been launched to find the runaway housemaid. The sources revealed that the deceased were the children of Sultan Nahar Al-Otaibi.

By Munaif Nayef Al-Seyassah Staff and Agencies