Deadly blaze: 10 of a family killed in Thatta fire

HYDERABAD:

Blazes kindled by a fishing boat's fuel in Haji Ibrahim Jatt village, located in a creek off the Keti Bunder coast in Thatta district, consumed 10 lives and left four other people burnt.

According to the police, family and sources in the Pakistan Fisher Folk Forum (PFF), the ghastly incident took place on Sunday midnight. "Diesel [used as fuel in the fishing boats] scattered on the ground caught flames from firewood," said Ghulab Shah, who heads the PFF in Thatta.



The fishermen living by the sea store diesel in the 40- to 50-litre capacity barrels. They fill the boat's fuel tank while they are anchored at the villages' banks. According to Shah, the fuel falls on the ground often during the movement from the huts to the boats. The firewood was being used to cook food. "All the victims were sleeping when the fire engulfed their thatched huts, leaving no time for them to escape," said Shah.

Nine of the victims died in the village, which is said to be around 18 to 20 kilometres away from Keti Bunder and takes over two hours sail to reach. The tenth deceased died in the Civil Hospital, Karachi, where four other injured are under treatment. Keti Bunder SHO Nazeer Magsi also confirmed the deaths. "The deceased have not been brought to any medical facility in Thatta," he said. "The family plans to bury them by tonight." The three children who died in the incident have been identified as Hameed, Aziz and Shakeela, while the women were Ghazi, Sami and Nabu. The deceased men were identified as Dada, Ghulam Rasool and Islam. All the deceased are Jatt by caste.

Haji Ibrahim Jatta and dozens of other villages in the creeks of Thatta are suffering from the effects of sea intrusion and have been coping with the adversities of life, which lacks even the basic facilities. But, according to PFF, such tragic incidents are rare.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 8^th,  2016.