No loss of life as huge fire engulfs girls school in Haripur

HARIPUR: Around 1,400 students and other people were safely evacuated after a blaze broke out on Monday in a government school for girls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Haripur.

Lives of hundreds of students and staff members were put on stake as the inferno swept through Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Haripur's Sirikot area.

Haripur's Rescue 1122 spokesperson Faraz Jalal confirmed nearly 1,400 students were evacuated from the building safety. 

The spokesperson said, “The blaze badly damaged the entire school building, particularly, school furniture, all the record and ceilings.”

Fire trucks were sought from TMA and Ghazi areas as firefighters along the local residents began putting off the blaze, a rescue official said, adding that fire brigade vehicles faced trouble reaching the incident’s site because of mountainous terrain.

It was transpired that the female students were evacuated by residents of the area on their own.

As per the rescue department, there was no loss of life in the incident. It said about half of the school building was constructed with wood.

Fire caused by short-circuit: KP chief secretary

Later, Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry confirmed that the school building caught fire because of a short-circuit.

Chaudhry maintained that further investigation into the unfortunate happening was underway, adding that the affected school would soon be made functional.

On the other hand, KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has taken notice of the fire incident. The rescue officials timely took action and evacuated the students, he said.

The chief minister said the education department and district administration would submit report regarding the fire accident, whereas all the educational institutes would be reviewed so that such incidents could not happen in the future.

He also said the damaged caused by the blaze would be compensated by the provincial government.