HARIPUR: A woman was killed while eight animals perished when a cattle pen caught fire in Khanpur’s remote village council Jabb, some 34km from here, family sources and police said on Thursday.

Mohammad Saeed, a resident of village Nathu Khaiter, told the police that children were playing with fire near a stack of dried grass close to the cattle pen when it caught fire, which spread to the adjacent room.

As no male member of the family was at home, Saeed’s wife Bushra Bibi, 32, mother of two, entered the room to rescue the cattle. She was unfastening a buffalo, when it collapsed on her resulting in her death.

Saeed said that his young children called the villagers for help who entered the cattle pen after breaking through the roof and retrieved the body. He said two buffaloes, a pair of oxen and four goats also perished in the fire.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2023