QUETTA: A senior police officer died of gas suffocation in the border town of Chaman on Thursday.

Officials said Station House Officer (SHO) Asad Khosti of Chaman Police Station went to sleep at his home without switching off the gas heater due to the severe cold. He was found unconscious in his bedroom the following morning, they said, adding that the SHO was immediately taken to the district hospital for treatment but did not survive.

Inspector Asad Khosti was a resident of Zhob district. His body was handed over to his family after the completion of medico-legal formalities.

Meanwhile, Quetta and most parts of Balochistan have been in the grip of icy Siberian winds for the past five days. These winds have left the provincial capital with a deserted appearance as temperatures dropped to subzero levels, suspending normal life in various towns and cities across northern and central Balochistan, including Quetta, Kalat, Mastung, Ziarat, Duki, Sanjavi, Wila Saifullah, Muslim Bagh, Khanozai, Pishin, Qila Abdullah, Chaman, Toba Kakari, Toba Achskzai, and Noshki.

Although there was no rain or snowfall in and around Quetta, Siberian winds caused the maximum temperature to remain 8°C despite sunny conditions. The minimum temperature recorded in the Quetta valley was -7°C, while Ziarat reported -8°C and Kalat -6°C on Thursday. The cold wave is expected to continue over the next 24 hours.

Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2024