A woman and her two children died after a fire broke out in a house in Head Baqani, a suburb of Muzafarrargh late on Tuesday night. As many as 14 other people were injured, of which five are in a critical condition at Nishtar Medical Hospital in Multan.
Rescue 1122 officials said the incident occurred around 11pm on Tuesday night.
They said brothers Muhammad Saleem and Muhammad Khan lived together at in a two-storey house with their families.
They said the family had lit several lanterns after there was an unscheduled power outage.
Saleem told Rescue 1122 that one of the children dropped a lantern on his clothes as he was trying to light it.
He said the burnt the child’s clothes and a can of kerosene oil nearby exploded.
Residents of the area were called for help. Neighbours said the entire house was engulfed in flames in a matter of minutes. The fire was put out by Rescue 1122 after several hours. As many as 10 children between the ages of five to 12 years were injured. All 15 members of the family were taken to Nishtar Hospital in Multan.
Nishtar Hospital Emergency Ward Director Pervez Haider told The Express Tribune all family members had more than 30 per cent burns.
Seven-year-old Sajawal, three-year-old Sidra and their 34-year-old mother Parveen died at the hospital. Haider said the children had 80 per cent burns and Parveen had 97 per cent burns.
He said five-year-old Muhammad Ali, 12-year-old Muhammad Asif and 25-year-old Samina were in a serious condition. He said they had been undergone surgery and later moved to the critical care unit for observation.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 2nd, 2014.
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