Fireworks blast claims six lives

MALAKWAL: A blast caused by fireworks on Saturday left at least six people dead and seven others wounded in Kot Phulley Shah, Phalia, rescue officials said.

The deceased included four women, a child and a man. Four of them belonged to the same family. The officials said fireworks were prepared in the house where the incident took place. The roof of the house and a neighbouring house collapsed due to the explosion.

The explosive material caught fire when the families were sleeping. Four family members and a woman and a child in the adjacent house died. The dead were Sumera Bibi, 40, Haram Fatima, 8, Imran Khalid, 40, Rimsha Bibi, 39, Iqra Bibi, 33 and Pakeeza Fatima, 25.

Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz expressed deep sorrow over the loss of six precious lives in an explosion at a fireworks factory on the outskirts of Phalia.