Eight children, woman perish in Dadu fire tragedy

SUKKUR: Eight children and a woman on Tuesday were killed in a fire incident, which also saw more than 50 houses reduced to ashes, in village Faiz Muhammad Chandio, Mehar Taluka, Khairpur Nathan Shah, District Dadu, on late Monday night. The fire reportedly broke out in the kitchen of a hut. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has taken notice of the incident and told CM Sindh to furnish a detailed report.

Reports said eight children and a woman were killed, while several others were injured, when a fire erupted in the kitchen of a small hut, and rapidly engulfed the surrounding locality, comprising around 50 or more houses in Faiz Muhammad Chandio, district Dadu.

The local residents claimed that more than 160 livestock had also burnt to death, while some crops were also damaged, along with other valuables. They said despite various calls to the concerned authorities, the fire tenders did not reach the spot, claiming that no government functionary had turned up at the village.

The police shifted the bodies and injured to a local hospital for medico-legal formalities, where the deceased, including eight children and a woman, were identified as six-year-old Fareeda, d/o Ali Akbar Mallah, five-year-old Soona, d/o Akbar, five-year-old Sajan, s/o Peeral Mallah, four-year-old Mour, Rasheed, Nargis and Alam, children of Imamuddin, Zaman, s/o Akram, Hussain, s/o Bahar Khan, and Abdul Rasool, s/o Bahar Khan, Sawaira, six-year-old Tehmina and eight-year-old Sakina.

The villagers later held a protest against the local administration, urging the Sindh chief minister to take notice of its indifferent attitude. They said the DC Dadu and other officials had arrived after 12 hours. The elders of the villages demanded the authorities to completely rehabilitate all the damaged houses and pay compensation immediately.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has taken notice of the death of eight children and a woman in a fire incident in district Dadu. The PM has also talked to Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah, telling him that the federal government was ready to help the unfortunate victims. The prime minister asked the Sindh CM to furnish a comprehensive report, including a copy of the FIR, cause of fire, and loss of lives, properties and livestock. He also told the Sindh CM to start immediate relief and rehabilitation operations for the fire victims and to announce compensation for them.

Meanwhile, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has also taken notice of the incident, and talked to the CM Sindh to ensure relief work for victims.Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, while expressing his grief and sorrow over the deaths in the incident, directed the district administration for stepping up the rescue operation to control the fire and providing medical facility to the injured. The chief minister said that he must be updated on every single development pertaining to the relief operation. He also directed the police to assist the district administration in the operation.