Four of a family killed, seven others injured in Karachi building blaze

Area residents say flames spread due to delay in arrival of fire tenders; fire department refutes claim

KARACHI:

A sudden blaze engulfed a residential four-storey building in Hijrat Colony early Saturday morning, resulting in the deaths of four members of a family while seven others were injured.

The flames, initially limited to the upper floors, spread rapidly to envelope the ground floor, which housed a dairy and tailor shop, as well.

Meanwhile, residents on the second and third floors were shifted to safety, but those on the first floor found themselves trapped.

Among them, 26-year-old Awais, jumped from the building to escape the fire. As a result, he was severely injured and was rushed to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre.

Later, when the building was searched, eight persons of a family were found in critical condition on the first floor. They were shifted to Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital's burns ward, where 55-year-old Ishrat, her daughter-in-law Waseela, 25, and her infant granddaughter, Ayat, died due to suffocation and burn injuries.

Separately, the burnt body of Ishrat's son, Sheharyar, 24, was found in the building.

The remaining members of the family, including Muhammad Talib, Tauqeer, Sumbal and Shahzeb, sustained injuries. Moreover, Irshad and his two children, Farmeena, 20, and Abdul Haseeb, 10, were also affected by the fire. The injured were shifted to a hospital.

According to area residents, the fire broke out due to short circuit on the building's mezzanine floor, housing a cushion-making workshop, after Fajr. They told The Express Tribune that the families of two brothers were residing in the affected building.

However, fire department officials said the cause of the fire could not be determined immediately.

Rescue operation

Soon after the incident was reported, police and rescue workers reached the spot and sought the fire department's assistance. While just one fire tender was initially sent, more were summoned later.

The extinguishing operation was expedited after the arrival of two more fire tenders belonging to the fire department and Karachi Port Trust. However, the narrow streets and crowds of bystanders posed a hurdle in the way of the operation, slowing it down.

Eventually, after approximately two hours, the blaze was doused.

Area residents claimed that the fire tenders arrived after a delay of half an hour, due to which the flames spread throughout the building. It could have been contained had the help arrived in time, they said.

On the other hand, fire department officials claimed they were informed of the blaze at 6:07am and a fire tender reached the site within minutes, but the fire had already intensified.

According to fire department officials, cries of help could be heard from the building after the blaze was doused. It was later discovered that all goods on the second, mezzanine and ground floors were burnt to ashes.