Three of the children killed in the Villaggio fire on Monday have been identified as New Zealand triplets two-year-old Lillie, Jackson and Willsher Weekes.
Lillie, Jackson and Willsher Weekes: triplets from New Zealand who died in Monday’s blaze
The fire at one of Qatar’s best shopping malls took the lives of 19, including 13 children. All died of suffocation from smoke inhalation. A total of 17 were injured, mostly firefighters.
The triplets were the only children of Jane and Martin Weekes, who had earlier lived in Wellington, New Zealand Herald reported yesterday.
Jane is a senior sales officer at Qatar Airways, and Martin, a group senior adviser for q.media, according to the daily.
The triplets’ grandfather, Ron Turner, told Radio New Zealand the toddlers started attending the mall’s Gympanzee day-care centre and nursery three mornings a week since two or three months.
He said his daughter, Jane Weekes, contacted him shortly after the fire, and she and her husband Martin are numbed by the loss.
“I am struggling to see how I will ever be happy again,” Ron said.
Jane’ mother, Jo Turner, told Fairfax she was devastated when her daughter rang but didn’t press her for information.
“It was just that ‘our babies they died in a fire at the day-care centre’.”
Jo said her daughter lived in Qatar for about five years. She returned to New Zealand for the birth of the triplets.
“They were everything to her. She was a great mum. She was a hands-on mum,’’ she said.
The grandfather recalled that going to the day-care gave the triplets an opportunity to meet more children and be involved in a different environment from home and mum and dad and nannies, and they were so proud to show off their school bags.
The triplets’ bodies would be brought back to New Zealand, he said.
Just last week Jane wrote on babycenter.com of her love for co-ordinating the three children’s clothes, despite them not all being the same gender.
“Like jeans and different coloured polo or tee-shirts, or different styles (only one in a dress!) but same colour. Before they were born I too said I wouldn’t but yup it’s too cute to resist!”
Ron and Jo were travelling to Qatar from New Zealand yesterday evening. New Zealand Foreign Affairs consular staff from Saudi Arabia were also headed to Doha to support the family.
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key and Labour leader David Shearer expressed their condolences to the family.
Key said the family are obviously dealing with the terrible grief that they have at this time.
Shearer said: “I join with all other New Zealanders in expressing my heartfelt sympathies to the parents, extended family, and friends, of the three young children caught up in such a tragic event. The pain of their loss is unimaginable.”
They were the joy of our life
In a statement issued in Doha yesterday, Jane and Martin Weekes said: “Lillie, Jackson and Willsher came into this world together and were inseparable as siblings, best friends and the joy of our life.
Tragically they left together after only two short years. A time that was lived to the full everyday with us laughing, playing, waking us at all hours of the night and simply being the sunshine in our world.
We would like to thank everyone for their love and support. Our thoughts are also with the other families affected by this tragedy.”