Two young brothers aged four and seven on Sunday were suffocated to death following a fire that trapped them while asleep when their mother was away in Area 36 Lilongwe.

According to Deputy Spokesperson for Lilongwe police station, Foster Benjamin, the mother allegedly left a burning candle on the refrigerator and went to the market to sell Mang’ina.

“Unfortunately, the refrigerator caught fire and its smoke engulfed the kids who failed to get out since the house was locked.

“When the mother returned, she found the house engulfed by smoke and her sons dead,” Benjamin said.

He said the both bodies were carried to Kamuzu Central Hospital for postmortem.

Meanwhile, Police have warned the general public to avoid leaving burning candles when they are away from their homes.