A cane farmer who had left his house for just two hours is now homeless after his Waiwari, Coqeloa family home outside Labasa was burnt to the ground on Thursday evening.

Prem Chand, 49, a father of two, was half a kilometre away from his home at his brother’s house when his house was burnt to the ground at 6.30pm.

“My two daughters now both reside in Suva and my wife had gone to see them on Thursday as well. I was the only one here in Labasa when the incident occurred,” Mr Chand said.

“I left for my brother’s place at 4.30pm, by 6.30pm my house was burnt to the ground,” he said.

The only belongings that he managed to save were the clothes on his back.

“I will again have to start from scratch and I am pleading with members of the public if they could assist me in any way to help me pick up the bits and pieces in my life,” he said.

He added that he had built the house in the year 2000.

Comments from the National Fire Authority could not be obtained before this edition went to press.

Edited by Karalaini Waqanidrola

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