Three perish in house fire

Two others battle for their lives at hospital

LAHORE: In a horrifying incident in the city, three people lost  their lives and two were critically injured by fire at a house in North Cantonment on Friday.

The victims were sleeping in their house in Nishtar Colony near RA Bazar when the house went up in flames. In no time, the residence was engulfed by the blazing inferno, leaving family members trapped inside.



As news of the incident spread, locals called firefighters and rescue teams reached the spot to shift the victims to the Lahore General Hospital. Meanwhile, the flames were extinguished thanks to the efforts of the firefighters.

Three deceased were identified as Shakeela Bibi, Sajjad Kaleem and Waleed who were pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. In the meanwhile, injured victims Naveed and Awais were stated to be in critical condition and were undergoing treatment at the Lahore General Hospital.

Police teams collected forensic evidence from the crime scene and sent these to the Punjab Forensic Science Agency for examination. They also recorded statements of the eyewitnesses. According to initial investigations, the incident was caused by an accident and the house caught fire due to short-circuiting. Police were further investigating the matter.



Casualties in fire incidents in houses increased in the winter as the people used gas heaters and electric appliances to control temperature. At the beginning of the year on January 14, five members of a family had lost lives in the Lahori Gate area. The family was trapped inside the fire as they slept.

On May 18, 2015, six minor children of a family were burnt alive in Shadbagh. The victims were asleep in their first storey home while their parents were on the ground floor when a fire broke out at night.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 16^th, 2017.