2 Ugandan children die in house fire while parents watch World Cup football

Children die while parents watch football

KAMPALA — Police say two Ugandan children died in a fire while their parents watched a World Cup match on television nearby.

Police in Uganda have warned parents against leaving children alone in houses following the death of an 8- and 10-year-old in the Kayunga district west of Kampala.

Kayunga police official Henry Kolyanga said the house in which the children were sleeping caught fire. “The mother and father of the children left a candle burning and went to watch the match on television in a nearby trading center,” Kolyanaga said.

He added it was likely the candle was hit by a rat and it lit the tablecloth, “which subsequently lit other household property.”