An 86-year-old man ,Abson Chinthuli is reported dead after a house he was living in caught fire on Saturday in Lilongwe.

According to the deceased’s young brother, Emanuel Chidaomba, the incident happened at around 4.00 pm when most people from the village went to next village, Mkuwa, to watch traditional dances.

Chidaomba, 60, said on their way home, they got the message that Chinthuli’s house had caught fire and that it was feared Chinthuli was still in the house.

“We rushed to the scene but it was too late because the house was up in frames and there was nothing we could do,” explained Chidaomba tearfully.

He said while they were struggling with the fire that had engulfed Chinthuli’s house, Chidaomba’s own house, about 20 meters away, also caught fire but they managed to contain the fire and save a few items from the house.

Lilongwe Police spokesperson, Kingsley Dandaula, confirmed the incident and said according to postmortem conducted by a medical doctor at the scene, the octogenarian died of suffocation and neurogical shock.

People from Mzingo Village suspect foul play, but Dandaula said the cause of the fire is still under investigations.

Chinthuli hails from Mzingo Village, Traditional Authority Kalumba in Lilongwe.