A one-year-old baby has been burnt to death in Calabar.

The incident happened at the Eta Agbor area of Calabar Municipality on October 9.

When NAN visited the area, it was observed that the thatched house was completely burnt down.

The mother of the child, Glory Etim-Akpan, 19, told NAN that her child was sick, and so she went out to a pharmacy in the area to buy drugs and pampers for her.

Ms Etim-Akpan said she left the baby, Kate Dickson, at home sleeping, with a lit candle in the room.

“My baby was having cough and catarrh, so I went out to buy drugs for her and Pampers. Before leaving the house, I lit a candle on top of a metal plate in the room. I didn’t even get to the pharmacy when I received a call that our house was on fire,” she explained. “It was not up to 30 minutes that I left the house. “Neighbours around heard my baby crying, but they couldn’t intervene. When I came back, we broke the door, and I found out that my baby was already burnt to death.”

She added, “Also, I lost all my properties, including my certificates. The fire burnt down my apartment completely.”

Ms Etim-Akpan added that her life had been shattered because she had nowhere to stay, no food to eat and no clothes to wear.

She appealed to well-meaning Nigerians to come to her aid through financial and material support.

(NAN)