Over 150 shanties gutted

At least three people were treated for burn injuries following a fire that reduced at least one hundred and fifty shanties (thatched huts) to ashes in Gulshan-e-Qadri, Malir between Monday and Tuesday night.

The fire department said they were able to bring the fire under control after two hours with the help of nine tenders. It said that Karachi Water & Sewerage Board (KW&SB) dispatched several tankers to the accident site after an emergency was imposed on the Safoora and Landhi hydrants.

The fire department spokesperson said that the fire consumed around the thatched huts and the things inside it while another 200 huts were able to escape the inferno.

The department said the area didn't have any electrical connections while ruling out wiring malfunction. It suggested that negligence could be the cause as people in the same huts where they lived.

A resident of a nearby settlement told The Express Tribune that he was having tea with his friends when he spotted the fire and rushed to the scene to help with the rescue efforts. He said children were barely able to escape the fire.

Locals said that some of the people living in the settlement included families from flood-hit areas in Sindh who came to the city around six months ago. A majority of the families living in the area have been here for two decades, they said.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 15^th, 2023.