Six of a family burnt alive in Lohari house fire

By our correspondents
January 15, 2016

LAHORE

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Six members of a family were burnt alive when a fire erupted in a four-storey house due to unknown reason in Jhanda Bazaar of Lohari Gate police limits on Thursday.

Four members of the family survived the tragic incident with the help of their neighbours.

Rescue 1122, fire brigade, Edhi Foundation and police reached the spot and started rescue operation.

The fire was controlled after hectic efforts continued for six hours. The deceased persons were identified as Muhammad Shahid, 55, his wife Qaisara Shahid, his sister Gulshan Bibi, 70, his son Ali Shahid, 12, his daughter Ayesha Shahid, 18, and his sister’s grandson Ali Imran, 04.

Khalid, a local of the area, said the fire erupted at around 2:40 am when the families were asleep in the house. He added he was also asleep in the house when he heard loud screams. He said when he came out he saw smokes and flames coming out from the house. The neighbours rushed the site to rescue the victims, he said.

Another eye-witness said “Masjid Ayyam” had a shared wall with the building. He said the locals of the area went to the mosque, broke the shared wall and rescued four of the victims. The rescued victims were identified as Imran Zafar, Tehmina Imran, wife of Imran, Mudassar, and a six months old son of Imran.

A neighbour of the victims said that it was a house owned by Muhammad Shahid, a fruit vendor. He said the ground floor of the building consisted of shops. Shahid had rented the shops. He ran his shop on the ground floor of his house.

On second floor, he lived with his wife, Qaisara Shahid, his son, Ali Shahid 12, and his daughter Ayesha Shahid. The third floor was used as a store to keep goods, fruits, vegetables and empty wooden-crates of fruits and vegetables. Gulshan Bibi, sister of Shahid, along with his son Imran and his family lived on the fourth floor of the building.

Ehtisham, another eye-witness, said locals of the area tried to extinguish fire on their own but it turned into a huge fire in no time. He said people called Rescue 1122 and fire brigade that reached within half an hour.

Fire fighters controlled the fire after six hours. After extinguishing the fire, the rescuers went inside and recovered dead bodies. Rescuers faced problems in performing the rescue work, he said. They had to pass through narrow streets of the Walled City to reach the site. Operation site was also a narrow opening due to encroachments. Open and disorganised electric wires, signboards and steel sheds of the buildings obstructed the operation, he said. An official of Crime Scene Unit said the initial investigation and circumstantial evidence suggested that fire broke out at the fourth floor due to a short circuit and it spread to other floors. He said the fire turned into a huge fire because of wooden crates and other things in the building.

The condition of the rescued victims was stated to be stable. The CM took notice of the incident and asked the authorities concerned to submit report.

CM seeks report on fire incident: Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has expressed deep grief over the death of six of a family in a fire in a house in Lohari Gate. He expressed sympathies with the bereaved family over this tragic incident and ordered an inquiry into the incident and sought a report.

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