TIPPAH COUNTY, Miss. — A four-year-old boy and four-year-old girl were killed when their mobile home went up in flames Sunday afternoon, according to the Tippah County Sheriff’s Office.
Misty Smith lives two doors down from the home off Highway 2 northeast of Ripley.
She said she was putting up her fall decorations around 1 p.m. when she felt the ground shake.
“We heard a loud explosion,” Smith said.
That loud explosion was followed by loud screams.
“The dad was running around screaming, ‘My babies are in there!’” Smith said. “I can’t even imagine how helpless he felt knowing that his children were in there and there was nothing he can do about it.”
The coroner said both children died of smoke inhalation.
It’s not clear how the fire started or where the twins’ father was, but the Sheriff’s Office said it’s not currently pursuing any criminal charges.