As the smoke clears: ‘Our loved ones needn’t have died’
Relatives of the deceased blame LESCO, Rescue-1122 and city government.
LAHORE:
Cries of anguish rang out at Mayo Hospital as families and relatives mourned the deaths of 13 people who had passed away in a conflagration at Khalid Plaza in Urdu Bazaar on Monday evening. Several others were seen clambering over each other at Urdu Bazaar looking for family members who had either been trapped in the fire or had gone missing.
The people who passed away were identified as Sanaullah, 45, Syed Sheraz, 27, Iqbal Javed, 41, Syed Sajjad Ali, 41, Azam,23,Mazhar, 31, Atif, 33, five unidentified males and an unidentified woman. Rescue-1122 official said the woman was around 35 years old. Two people received burn injuries and are undergoing treatment at Mayo Hospital.
Hospital officials said most of the victims had died due to suffocation. The condition of Mustafa, one of those injured, is critical, they said.
Syed Muhammad Ikram, father of Syed Sheraz, was beside himself with grief at the Mayo Hospital’s Burn Unit. “My son was trapped in a shop on the ground floor which caught fire last... he burned to death. I kept requesting the officials there to turn off the electricity but they paid no attention. There was sparking at the shops which had caught fire...that’s why it spread so quickly,” he said.
Talking to The Express Tribune, Kazim Ali, Syed Sajjad Ali’s brother, said, “My brother died of suffocation as rescuers failed to pull him out of the fire on time.” He said emergency services officials’ had taken too long to respond. “The delay in putting the fire cost us our loved ones’ lives.”
Tahir, a relative of Mazhar, who had been injured in the fire, said there was a small explosion in a UPS which then caught fire.
The relatives of the deceased blamed Rescue-1122, the city government and Lahore Electric Supply Company for the tragedy.
Rescue-1122 officials said there were around 90 people in the four-storey building at the time of the incident. While most of them managed to escape, at least 25 of them were trapped on the ground floor.
Jam Sajjad, spokesperson for Rescue-1122, said they had evacuated 13 bodies. He said Rescue-1122 workers had been unable to respond swiftly because of the bazaar’s narrow winding streets. “Our response was prompt. Rescue-1122 officials arrived at the scene as soon as we received the call. Rescue activity was delayed because of the narrow streets.”
DCO Captain (retd) Usman said the fire had erupted due to a short circuit and had spread rapidly through the building. He said six people with minor burn injuries were rescued and taken to a hospital. They were discharged after being given first aid. The DCO said the plaza had four storeys and no emergency exit points which is why the fire fighters and Rescue-1122 officials had faced a lot of problems in controlling the fire.
He said they would remove the debris on Tuesday because of the heavy fog and suspension of electricity supply to the area. “The city government has issued instructions to owners of all plazas and markets to set up emergency exits but they do not follow our instructions,” Usman said.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 30th, 2014.
Cries of anguish rang out at Mayo Hospital as families and relatives mourned the deaths of 13 people who had passed away in a conflagration at Khalid Plaza in Urdu Bazaar on Monday evening. Several others were seen clambering over each other at Urdu Bazaar looking for family members who had either been trapped in the fire or had gone missing.
The people who passed away were identified as Sanaullah, 45, Syed Sheraz, 27, Iqbal Javed, 41, Syed Sajjad Ali, 41, Azam,23,Mazhar, 31, Atif, 33, five unidentified males and an unidentified woman. Rescue-1122 official said the woman was around 35 years old. Two people received burn injuries and are undergoing treatment at Mayo Hospital.
Hospital officials said most of the victims had died due to suffocation. The condition of Mustafa, one of those injured, is critical, they said.
Syed Muhammad Ikram, father of Syed Sheraz, was beside himself with grief at the Mayo Hospital’s Burn Unit. “My son was trapped in a shop on the ground floor which caught fire last... he burned to death. I kept requesting the officials there to turn off the electricity but they paid no attention. There was sparking at the shops which had caught fire...that’s why it spread so quickly,” he said.
Talking to The Express Tribune, Kazim Ali, Syed Sajjad Ali’s brother, said, “My brother died of suffocation as rescuers failed to pull him out of the fire on time.” He said emergency services officials’ had taken too long to respond. “The delay in putting the fire cost us our loved ones’ lives.”
Tahir, a relative of Mazhar, who had been injured in the fire, said there was a small explosion in a UPS which then caught fire.
The relatives of the deceased blamed Rescue-1122, the city government and Lahore Electric Supply Company for the tragedy.
Rescue-1122 officials said there were around 90 people in the four-storey building at the time of the incident. While most of them managed to escape, at least 25 of them were trapped on the ground floor.
Jam Sajjad, spokesperson for Rescue-1122, said they had evacuated 13 bodies. He said Rescue-1122 workers had been unable to respond swiftly because of the bazaar’s narrow winding streets. “Our response was prompt. Rescue-1122 officials arrived at the scene as soon as we received the call. Rescue activity was delayed because of the narrow streets.”
DCO Captain (retd) Usman said the fire had erupted due to a short circuit and had spread rapidly through the building. He said six people with minor burn injuries were rescued and taken to a hospital. They were discharged after being given first aid. The DCO said the plaza had four storeys and no emergency exit points which is why the fire fighters and Rescue-1122 officials had faced a lot of problems in controlling the fire.
He said they would remove the debris on Tuesday because of the heavy fog and suspension of electricity supply to the area. “The city government has issued instructions to owners of all plazas and markets to set up emergency exits but they do not follow our instructions,” Usman said.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 30th, 2014.