Toxic Smoke: Woman, 3 children die of suffocation

The bodies were discovered when Ramzan visited the house in Barma Town, in the suburbs of Islamabad.

ISLAMABAD: As the burning wood turned into ash, so did the lives of 40-year-old Ameer Bibi and her three children. However Bibi’s eldest son, nine-year-old Haseeb, survived. Police said Aisha, 5, Muneeb, 4, Junaid, 3, and their mother Bibi died of toxic smoke inhalation. Manzoor, their father, was in his native town of Lodhran, Multan, to take part in a family function. A labourer, Manzoor recently moved to Islamabad in search of better job opportunities, neighbours said. The bodies were discovered when Ramzan visited the house rented house in Barma Town, in the suburbs of Islamabad. Shehzad Town Police shifted all four bodies to Polyclinic hospital. An autopsy was not performed on the request of the family, police said. The bodies were handed over to Ramzan, Manzoor’s brother, they added.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 28^th, 2011.