Story By: Maja Mishevksa, Sub Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash

A four-year-old boy has died trying to protect his one-year-old sister with his own body from a fire caused by a tablet overheating whilst it was on charge.

The incident took place in the Julio Buitrago neighbourhood in the Nicaraguan capital Managua on Wednesday when the children were with their father Marvin Obando, 24, as their mother Marbely Soto Castillo, 21, was working.

Father Obando said he noticed a fire in the room where his son Jordan Caleb Obando Soto and daughter Alessandra Adelaid Obando Soto were inside but he could not enter through the door.

He then worked with neighbours to get into the room by dismantling the zinc roofing and he said he found his son covering his sister to protect her from the blaze.

The father told reporters before breaking into tears: “The boy was covering his sister when I went in to save my kids. The boy was hugging this girl, he was over her.

“He threw himself over her because he knew something was going to happen. He protected her. He only survived three hours, my Jordan. My girl, thanks to him, survived until 3.40 am. I would like him to be applauded.”

Local media reported that the kids were rescued through the roof of the house by neighbours and taken to the Antonio Lenin Fonseca Hospital.

The doctor who attended the children, Julian Corea, said that the boy arrived at the hospital with burns to 100 percent of his body, while the girl had burns to 98 percent of her body.

The Health Ministry said that the boy died on the night of the fire, and the girl, who had a hope of surviving, finally died on 6th January despite the efforts of the doctors.

Rosario Murillo, the Vice-President of Nicaragua, said to local media that “a tablet connected to the mains overheated and caused the fire that cost the life of the two kids (brother and sister)”.

The make and model of the tablet was not reported.

According to the General Direction of Firefighters, a team of firefighters went to the scene but the children had already been taken out of the burning room.

The children’s funeral was well-attended after their death shocked the country.

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