Chitral burn victim dies in Peshawar

Chitral Burn Trauma Centre devoid of any facility

PESHAWAR: A burns injury victim from Chitral under treatment at Hayatabad Burns and Plastic Surgery Centre died on Saturday.

The six-year old girl, Tania, was from the family eight who were injured when a gas cylinder blew up during breakfast. She was laid to rest in native village of Ayun.

The gas cylinder had exploded on October 1 at the house of Shakirullah Alam in Ayun Muldah area of Chitral district injuring eight people of a family, including three children and three women.

Residents had informed that Rescue 1122 who had brought them to the burn unit at District Headquarters Hospital Chitral, but since there were no facilities available to treat burn patients, they were referred to Peshawar.

Among the victims were Gulshan Bibi, Shakir Ullah and his wife, Manzoor, his wife and children Ayan Ali, Kakshan Bibi, and Tania Bibi.

The treatment had cost the family around Rs200,000 although many facilities were free at the hospital. They urged the provincial government to provide them financial help for meeting expenses in Peshawar.

Though Chitral has a Burn Trauma Centre, it is only a building devoid of any facility.

Burns patients are referred to Peshawar, which is almost 365km away.

The people of Chitral have demanded the K-P government to provide staff and facilities to the trauma centre to treat patients with burn injuries in their own district.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 6^th, 2019.