Mother's initial statement revealed in İzmir fire tragedy that claimed the lives of 5 siblings

In the Selçuk district of Izmir, 5 siblings died after being burned in a fire that broke out when an electric heater overturned in a single-story house in the Cumhuriyet neighborhood.

After her husband Hakan Akcan was sent to prison, Melisa Akcan, who provided for her family by collecting scrap, left her 5 children at home and went to collect scrap metal.

Meanwhile, a fire broke out as a result of the heater in the house tipping over. While the flames engulfed the entire house in a short time, 1-year-old Aras Bulut Akcan, 2-year-old Masal Işık Akcan, 3-year-old Aslan Miraç Akcan, 4-year-old Funda Peri Akcan, and 5-year-old Fadime Nefes Akcan remained trapped inside.

THE DOOR WAS LOCKED

While fire crews extinguished the fire, it was determined that three of the five children had died from smoke inhalation, while two were severely injured. The two children taken to the hospital could not be saved. The initial investigation into the fire determined that the door was locked.

Only the toys of the 5 siblings who lost their lives in the burned house remained.

MOTHER AKCAN'S STATEMENT REVEALED

Following the tragedy that plunged all of Turkey into mourning, the first statement given to the police by the mother, Melisa Akcan, who is being kept under observation at the hospital, has been revealed.

“I HAD GONE TO COLLECT THE MONEY FOR THE SCRAP I HAD GATHERED”

Akcan stated that she left the house around 18:45 to collect the money for the scrap she had gathered, and when she returned around 19:05, she saw smoke rising from the house and shouted for help.

FATHER IS IN PRISON

It was learned that their father, Hakan Akcan, is in prison for the crime of 'theft'.

According to AA, a neighbor of the family described the fire after the tragedy.

33-year-old neighbor Soner Şahin told reporters that the fire broke out yesterday around 19:30.

Explaining that they heard the screams of the children's mother, Melisa Sinem Akcan, Şahin said, "I heard a cry saying, '(Aunt Esma, run, my children are dead).' My mother ran, and my father and I ran after her. My father had a flashlight in his hand. It was dark here at the time of the incident. We ran into the house; there was smoke inside.

The mother was also trying to get the children out. I realized that all five had already lost their lives; they had been poisoned by the smoke. One child had burns; they were blackened," he said.

"SHE WOULD REMOVE THE DOOR HANDLE AND LEAVE"

Şahin stated that they learned the mother made a living by collecting plastic and scrap, and that she had left the house to go shopping.

Stating that the mother told them the fire started as a result of the heater tipping over, Şahin said, "There are no locks on the doors, but since it is a PVC door, she would pull the door shut, remove the PVC handle, and leave the children; that's what she told us. So the children wouldn't open it. The children didn't have the strength to open it anyway. The children were already 5, 4, and 3 years old," he said.

Noting that a fire also broke out 1 month ago in the section next to the house where animals were kept, Şahin said, "We didn't fully question the cause of that one. It was like an empty room. The children weren't inside; there was a dog and 5 puppies there. They also died by burning," he expressed.

The mother's grandmother, Ayşe Açar, said it was very difficult that all 5 of her children died. Stating that there was nothing they could do, Açar noted that they last met about 1 month ago and that they visited the house from time to time but did not stay because there was no place to sleep. Açar said, "They went without knowing themselves. When we came, they wouldn't get out of our arms," she said.

Hatice Tosça said that her son's workplace was next to the house where the fire broke out. Explaining that the fire broke out after her son left his workplace, Tosça said, "30 minutes later, a phone call came. My son said, 'Mom, Hakan's children died from smoke inhalation.' I know the family," she expressed.