Six killed in Kot Addu house fire

MULTAN/ FAISALABAD:

Six people died and three others were injured in a house fire in Sanwan, near Kot Addu on Friday.

A Rescue 1122 spokesman said the fire had broken out due to an electric short circuit. He said it had spread to six houses in the neighbourhood. He said four siblings and a child and his mother had been killed in the fire. The deceased were identified as eight-year-old Hamid, four-year-old Arsalan, 14 –year-old Naureen and 12-year-old Hania, two-year-old Tahir Abbas and his mother Amna. The Rescue 1122 spokesman said the injured were taken to the burn unit of Nishtar Hospital in Multan. He said the fire had been put out two hours later.

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif took notice of the incident and ordered district administration and health officials to ensure proper treatment of the injured. In a statement, Governor Rafique Rajwana also expressed sorrow over the loss of lives in the incident.

Residents of the area said the fire had broken out early in the morning.

“I saw smoke from the house when I was washing dishes,” said Bashiran Mai, a neighbour. “I ran to my husband to inform him about it. In few minutes, the fire had spread to neighbouring houses.”

She said neighbours had called Rescue 1122. “While we waited for the fire-fighters arrived, we tried to stop the fire from spreading to more houses.”

Three workers injured in roof collapse

Three workers were injured when the roof of a factory caved in on Friday.

A Rescue 1122 spokesman said the roof of AHM Embroidery near National Colony on Mannanwala was being repaired when the incident occurred. He said 16-year-old Muhammad Ehsan, 15-year-old Qasim, and 22-year-old Muhammad Ramazan were injured. He said they were taken to Allied Hospital where doctors said their condition was stable.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 30^th, 2016.