MANSEHRA: A man, his wife and three children received critical burns when they were trapped in a wildfire in the Batrasi forests here on Saturday.

“The family crossing the jungle was trapped in the wildfire and suffered critical injuries. The injured were rushed to a nearby health facility,” Amir Khadam, an official of Rescue 1122, told reporters.

The fire, he said had ravaged a wide area of the forest.

Mohammad Ishaq along with his family members, according to witnesses, was passing through the dense forest when the fire trapped them. The injured were rushed to Civil Hospital, Garhi Habibullah, wherefrom doctors referred them to King Abdullah Teaching Hospital, Mansehra.

According to doctors, the three children were in serious condition.

The intense wildfire also blocked the British-era Batrasi road, which links Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Kashmir, as long queues of vehicles were witnessed.

“A fire squad of the rescue service along with fire tenders and ambulances rushed to the spot just after receiving the information and put out the blaze after hectic efforts of three hours but not before it had destroyed alpine and deodar trees,” the Rescue 1122 official said.

“The wildfire incidents have been happening in forests across the district these days,” Mr Khadam said.

Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2022