Some Pakistani cricketers were also at the Regent Plaza when the fire broke out at the hotel in the wee hours of Monday, but though injured themselves, they helped in the rescue efforts.
The inferno that claimed a dozen lives and left 75 injured started around 2:45am in the ground-floor kitchen of the four-star hotel located on Sharae Faisal.
Cricketers from the UBL’s first-class team, which included some who play for the national team, were evacuated from their rooms after the blaze.
A source revealed that two of the players were injured in the incident. “Bowler Yasim Murtaza, in an attempt to vacate the hotel, jumped off the second floor of the building and fractured his ankle. As for Karamat Ali, he was injured by broken glass.”
National players Sohaib Maqsood, Hammad Azam and Umar Amin were also inside the hotel when the fire broke out. Maqsood and the other cricketers, although shaken themselves, helped rescue the guests still trapped inside.
Nadeem Khan, the UBL cricket team’s manager, said Maqsood evacuated a family trapped inside the establishment. He said the family had children and the cricketer did not wish to leave them behind. The cricketers also helped rescue Chinese officials.
