Seven Pakistanis die in house fire in Canada's Alberta province
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Seven Pakistanis, including four children, were killed in a house fire on Friday in Chestermere, Alberta, Canada, according to a report by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Corporal (RCMP) Tammy Keibel, while speaking to CBC, said that five people had managed to escape the fire and seven had been found dead in the house.
The deceased include a 38-year-old man and woman, a 35-year-old woman, a 12-year-old boy and girl, an eight-year-old girl and a four-year-old boy.
"It's a very tragic situation," CBC quoted Keibel as saying. She also told the Canadian news agency that the cause of the fire had not been determined but preliminary investigation did not indicate any criminal activity.
The report said the deceased were from two related families who had been staying at the house.
In a statement carried by The Associated Press of Pakistan on the incident, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said: "I am deeply grieved over the loss of Pakistani nationals in a fire incident. We are in contact with the Canadian authorities for [an] investigation into the incident."
He also prayed for the departed souls and for strength to the bereaved family to bear the loss with fortitude, said the statement, adding that he also ordered extension of wide-ranging support to the affected family.
The statement also said that on the foreign minister's instructions, Pakistan’s high commissioner to Canada and its consulate in Vancouver were in constant contact with the family.
Meanwhile, a statement from the Foreign Office (FO) also expressed its condolences and said it was "deeply saddened by the tragic death, due to house fire, of seven Canadian-Pakistanis, including four children, in Alberta, Canada."
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims of this tragic incident. We also pray for quick and full recovery of the injured."
The FO statement said that the Pakistan Consulate General in Vancouver was in contact with the relevant Canadian authorities to determine the facts of the incident and offer "all possible assistance" to the bereaved family.
"As per the relevant Canadian authorities, the cause of the fire is still unknown, however, preliminary investigations indicate that it’s not criminal in nature," said the FO statement.
