Two young brothers, who were at the Drop-in Centre for less than two days, perished in an early morning fire at the institution and the Ministry of Social Protection’s Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA) said it took full responsibility for the tragedy.
Antonio George, 6, and his brother Joshua, 2, perished in the fire after they were trapped in the building. Twenty-nine other children who were at the facility escaped the blaze.
At a press conference yesterday, Head of the CCPA Ann Greene explained that the two boys, along with three other siblings were taken into the care of the centre on Wednesday, around 5.30 pm, after the agency received information that they were victims of neglect and abuse. “As it is customary, the Child Care and Protection Agency took the children for medical attention on the 7th and the medical certificate confirmed that the children were victims of neglect and maltreatment,” she said.
Greene explained further that after they collected the children from their mother on Wednesday, they had scheduled a meeting with family members, which was slated for yesterday morning, to negotiate whether they would be able to take the children into their care. However, tragedy struck before any such arrangements could have been made.
At the press conference yesterday, two of the supervisors that were tasked with taking care of the children gave accounts of what occurred from the moment the fire came to their attention.
