OKARA: Six people, including two minors, died and four others became unconscious due to asphyxiation in Okara and Toba Tek Singh on Sunday night. Three people, including two minors, were asphyxiated by the smoke emanating from a hearth at Shergarh Town’s Hussain Nagar locality whereas as many others fell unconscious and were shifted to a hospital.

A six-member family visited their relatives at Hussain Nagar for condolences.

On Sunday night, the family lit up a hearth. During sleep, the room was filled with smoke as a result minors Fatima and Usman were suffocated to death while two men and as many women fell unconscious and were shifted to local hospital where 40-year-old Siddique died.

TOBA TEK SINGH: Three young men, including two brothers, died and another became unconscious due to asphyxiation at the Mithaiwala Chowk of the Warispura locality of Faisalabad.

According to Rescue 1122, all four men were workers of a bakery of the Batala Colony and were residing in a rented house in Warispura.

They were identified as brothers Shabbir Ahmad, 18, and Muhammad Nafees, 15, belonging to Chak Syedwala of Jaranwala, their village fellow Mazhar Sarfraz, 28, and Hussnain Fazal, 16, of Arrkana Chowki of Jaranwala.

They slept late on Sunday night after returning from work and burnt wooden coals in an iron pan to keep them warm before going to sleep.

When they did not open their door in the morning on Monday, the neighbours were alarmed and they called Rescue 1122 and Batala Colony police.

When the door was unlocked, three of the men, Shabbir, Nafees and Mazhar, were found dead while Husnain was lying unconscious. He was shifted to the district headquarters hospital where he was still unconscious when this report was filed.

Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2022