LAHORE: Tragedy struck a family when a massive fire killed six siblings in Shadbagh area late on Saturday night.

The fire was reportedly caused by a short circuit in an air-conditioner. The parents were not at home, having gone to Data Darbar for Shab-i-Mairaj prayers.

The children, one and a half years old Azan, Azhan, 3, Aleeba, 5, Dua, 7, Zain, 11, and Manahil, 12, were asleep in two rooms in their three-storey house on Shershah Road when the fire broke out and engulfed a room on the ground floor.

The smoke filled the upper storey, suffocating the three girls sleeping there. The three boys were on the ground floor.

Local people alerted the Rescue 1122 and the city government’s fire brigade which extinguished the fire but it was too late to save the children trapped inside.

They had suffered severe burn injuries and were taken to the Kot Khawaja Saeed Hospital where doctors pronounced them dead.

Shadbagh Police Sub-Inspector Bashir Ahmed told Dawn that the fire caused by electrical short circuit in an air-conditioner engulfed the room within minutes because of extensive woodwork on the walls.

Caused by electrical short circuit, the blaze affected two floors of the three-storey house

The father, Dr Qaiser Shah, who runs a hospital, termed it an accident and declined to allow post-mortem on the children. The bodies were handed over to the family after legal formalities and police were waiting for a complaint to be filed to register the case.

The incident sparked protests in the area and residents alleged that rescue teams had arrived late, otherwise the children could have been saved.

They also said that the rescue vehicles were without water and had to be sent back to fetch water.

The protesters who gathered after the funeral prayers raised slogans.

Hanif, a middle-aged resident, said that the chief minister and government officials had taken notice of similar incidents in the past but nothing was done to adequately equip the fire brigade and rescue units.

The bodies were buried in a graveyard in China Scheme.

President Mamnoon Hussain, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif expressed grief over the loss of lives.

The prime minister sought a report and action against people responsible for the delayed arrival of water bowsers at the site.

He urged the authorities concerned to improve the fire-fighting mechanism.

Rescue 1122 Director General Dr Rizwan Naseer was not available for comments.

Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2015

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