16 flood victims burn to death as coach catches fire in Jamshoro

SUKKUR: Sixteen flood-affected people burned to death and 40 others received serious burn injuries when a Khairpur Nathan Shah-bound coach they were travelling in from Karachi caught fire.

Jamshoro SSP Javed Baloch said that due to a technical fault in the air-conditioning system, fire erupted in the coach on M-9 Motorway, Nooriabad, Jamshoro. He said fire brigade and rescue teams reached the scene after receiving information and carried out the fire extinguishing and rescue operation.

DSP Wajid Thahim, present at the scene, said that bodies, including five of children and three of women, had been recovered from the coach. The injured had been shifted to Trauma Centre, Nooriabad, LUMS and Civil Hospital, Hyderabad. He said the death toll might increase as several passengers had received critical burn injuries.

He said the coach was packed with flood-affected people of Khairpur Nathan Shah, who were returning from Karachi to their village Nazar Muhammad Mugheri. He said mostly women and children were travelling in the coach and there were only five men in it. He said a total of 55 flood victims were travelling in the coach and almost all of them belonged to Rais Qurban Mugheri community. They had left their houses for Karachi after floodwaters hit their villages.

Deputy Commissioner Asif Jamil said fire-fighters had extinguished the fire and an emergency had been declared in LUMS, Civil Hospital, Hyderabad, and other hospitals in the area.

An FWO team, along with the fire-brigade, also reached the incident site. Edhi ambulances and ambulances of LUMS, Trauma Centre Nooriabad, Thana Bolakhan and Civil Hospital Hyderabad also took part in shifting the injured to hospitals. Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has ordered the DC and SSP Jamshoro to take all measures for shifting the fire victims to hospitals and providing them medical treatment facilities.