Neighbours efforts fail to save child from house blaze

NEIGHBOURS described yesterday how they tried to save the life of a two-year-old girl who died in a house fire in Killarney, Co Kerry.

Despite their brave efforts, they were beaten back by dense smoke and flames as they tried to get into Rebekah Goienetxe-Bawden’s upstairs bedroom.

The two-year-old lived in the rented terraced house at 21 O’Sullivan’s Place, close to the town centre, with her mother, Stephanie Bawden. She managed to escape from another upstairs room along with another occupant. The house dates back to the 1940s and was recently rewired, according to neighbours.