Pishin tragedy: Six children, 3 women suffocate to death

Victims inhaled carbon monoxide from electricity generator.

HARIPUR/ QUETTA/ DI KHAN: At least three women and six children died in their sleep after inhaling carbon monoxide emitted from an electricity generator installed in their room in Pishin district of Balochistan.

The incident took place in the Killi Karbala area of Pishin district and the victims are said to have died from asphyxia, a condition of severely deficient oxygen supply to the body.

Habibullah Nasir, a local Levies official, told The Express Tribune that there was no supply of electricity in the district and the generator was placed near the bathroom of the room where the victims were asleep.

“Due to the leakage of gas, poisonous fumes filled the room and caused the deaths of nine people,” he added.

The deceased women were identified as Bibi Zaida, wife of Qari Zahir, Bibi Zainab, wife of Mohammed Ismail and Shakira, wife of Gulbadin. Brothers Zubair Shah, 6, and Zoaib Shah, 3, who were Shakira’s children, also died in the incident. Sisters, Tanzala, 3, and Laiba, 6, Bibi Zaida’s children, also passed away along with their mother. Sisters Saqiba, 14, and Fatima, 2, Bibi Zainab’s daughters, also passed away.

Levies officials reached the site soon after being informed about the tragic incident. The owner of the house, Qari Abdul Zahir, the spouse of Bibi Zaida, was in Karachi at the time of the incident.

Massive power outages are a common occurrence in Balochistan, where electricity is available for merely two to three hours a day due to which many use power generators.

The area where the incident took place was without electricity for the past few days, residents said. Dozens of people die of asphyxia every year in Balochistan, particularly in the northern and upland areas of the province, during the winter season as people often forget to turn off heaters before going to bed.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 30^th, 2015.