"A few hours after I had just mentioned that human life was the most valuable asset of a country, I was surprised by tragic news, the most tragic ever in my family: eight members of my family had just died as a result of a fire", announced Venâncio.
The civil engineer tried, unsuccessfully, to compete with João Lourenço for the presidency of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), in power since 1975, and which won the elections again in 2022.
"Parents, children, my nephews and my grandchildren have just passed away at this moment. A whole family!", he wrote, on his Facebook social network page.
Contacted by Lusa, the spokesman for the Civil Protection and Fire Service, Faustino Miguéns, confirmed the fire, which resulted in six victims, aged between 1 and 40 years.
According to the official, the firefighters received the alert at 02:50 local time and when they arrived at the scene, in the neighborhood of Rangel, Luanda, the fire had already been extinguished by the people.
"We only did the aftermath. We learned that there were six members of the same family, aged between 1 and 40 years old, who were transported while still alive to Américo Boavida Hospital", said Faustino Migunes.
The deaths occurred due to the inhalation of toxic substances "due to the concentration of fumes", he added, indicating that firefighters rushed to the scene about 15 minutes after receiving the alert.
