A 29-year-old man identified as Chipiliro Chimkwita and his wife Fazida Chimkwita aged 22 have died after a jerrycan containing petrol caught fire in their house.
Dedza Police spokesperson Beatrice Jefita has told the local media that the incident occurred on July 27, 2023 at Kachule Village.
According to Jefita, Chimkwita was involved in an illegal business of selling Petrol in small volumes.
At around 21:00 hrs on the said date, he was refilling petrol from a 20-litre jerrican while warming himself using a charcoal stove nearby.
Suddenly, the heat from the charcoal stove caused the jerrican to catch fire and it exploded, killing Chipiliro.
Police from Njonja Police Unit together with medical personnel visited the scene of incident where postmortem revealed that death was due to suffocation, secondary to severe burns.
The wife Fazida sustained injuries on the legs and she was rushed to Kamuzu Central Hospital where she was admitted.
She died during the night of July 30, 2023 while receiving treatment.
They both hailed from Kachule village in Traditional Authority Kachere in Dedza district.
Police have since people to immediately stop storing fuel such as Petrol in either jerrycans or bottles within their homes.
