Overnight: Pine Cottage burnt to ashes

GDA DG constitutes fact-finding committee to determine cause

ABBOTABAD:

Pine Cottage (formerly Shangrila Pines Hotel) in Nathiagali was reduced to ashes after a fire broke out in the early hours of Sunday. The ownership rights of the multi-million property were recently transferred to Galiyat Development Authority following a judgment by the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Galiyat DSP Arif Javed Khan told The Express Tribune all six rooms and two quarters for staff were destroyed by the blaze. He said no loss of life was reported as people who were staying in the cottage were shifted to a safe place when the fire was first noticed.

The police official added the fire started in one of hotel’s rooms around 4:30am when the power supply was restored after routine load-shedding.

However, the cause of the blaze was not ascertained till the filing of
this report.

He pointed out, “All six rooms had woodwork making it easier for the blaze to rapidly engulf the entire building, reducing it to rubble in a short time.”



According to the DSP, “The GDA fire engine was called but it reached at 7:45am due to a shortage of water and by then the inferno had completely destroyed the building.”

The GDA DG has constituted a fact-finding committee headed by Tourism Director Adil Safi and Administration Director Raza Habib to probe the cause of the blaze.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 25^th,  2016.