Tragic accident: Girl forgotten inside inferno

MANSEHRA: A minor girl was burnt to death in an accidental fire in a remote village of Kaghan Valley on Friday. While her other family members were saved, everyone forgot she was still inside the house. Police quoted Aftab Hussain, a resident of Kamal Ban village, as saying his house caught fire on Thursday evening due to reasons unknown. The blaze engulfed five adjoining houses – belonging to his brothers. He said since there were no firefighting arrangements, all the houses were completely gutted with all their belongings.  Hussain said when villagers started the rescue operation and shifted women and children to a safe place, they forgot his five-year-old daughter Javeria was left behind. They realised she was missing after a few hours and when they began to look for her, they found her charred body under the debris of one of the burnt rooms. Nazeer Hussain, Munsif, Shah Hussain and Abdul Qadoos suffered monetary losses amounting to hundreds of thousands.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 27^th,  2016.