3 children perish in Belmopan fire

Belmopan police have detained a man following a fire that claimed the lives of his three children. The blaze occurred around ten-fifteen last night on Diana Street in the San Martin area of Belmopan. The Hernandez family had just returned from church, but before the father left for a friend’s house to make tamales for sale, he locked the two boys and one girl, aged eleven, nine and six years old inside the house with a candle burning. Fire officials say the candle was what caused the blaze. The three children’s remains were found by the entrance of the door where they perished while trying to escape. Police have detained the father. The children’s mother is said to be in Honduras.