Two burnt alive in Mansehra

MANSEHRA: Two minor cousins were burnt alive after they started a fire to burn a snake at a forest here but the fire engulfed the entire area because of heavy winds in Garhwal area of Pulrah.

“The cousins brought a match box from home to burn a dead snake, but fire engulfed the forest and they were burnt to death,” Mukhtar Tanoli, a local told reporters here on Sunday.

One Mohammad Owais, 4, and his paternal cousin Tanveer, 3, and another child had gone to a nearby forest and after witnessing a dead snake returned home and took a match box to start a fire.

“They collected the dried twigs and put them up on the dead snake and set it on fire,” Tanoli said. The fire engulfed the entire area and the two boys sustained burn injuries, causing their deaths, he added.

He said later bodies were taken to their homes.

“Tanveer was a guest who had come to meet his relatives along with his mother,” Tanoli said.

When contacted, the local police confirmed the incident, saying both cousins were trapped in fire and were killed.