Colorado State player’s parents, niece and nephew die in fire

Emmanuel Omogbo, a junior on the Colorado State basketball team, learned Tuesday that his parents and his sister’s 2-year-old twins died in a house fire back home in Maryland.

The Coloradoan newspaper reported firefighters in Prince George’s County, MD, were able to pull all four family members from the house in Chillum, a Washington D.C. suburb. Omogbo’s parents, Samson Omogbo, 63, and Caroline Omogbo, 55, died at the scene while the children were taken to a hospital where they later died. They were identified as Anna and Israel Omijie.

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“This is absolutely heartbreaking for Emmanuel, his family and for all of us that know him,” CSU coach Larry Eustachy said in a statement issued by the school. “There are no words to describe how it felt to hear this terrible news earlier today. They were a beautiful family that I enjoyed getting to know. The entire Colorado State men’s basketball team, athletic program and university will be there to support and help Emmanuel in any way we can through this incredibly tough time in his life.”

Omogbo was born in Nigeria but grew up in Hyattsville, Maryland. He has been one of the Rams’ best players in his first season in the program after playing at a junior college in Texas for two seasons. He elected to remain with his coaches and teammates Tuesday going through practice and traveling two hours south to Colorado Springs for a game Wednesday at Air Force. It’s unclear if he will play in the game.

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Prince George’s County Fire Chief Marc Bashoor told the Coloradoan the fire was already well developed when firefighters arrived. He said Omogbo’s sister jumped from a two-story window to escape the flames and suffered non-life threatening injuries. Two others also successfully escaped the home, which Bashoor said did not have smoke detectors.

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[Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo