LAHORE: Four children were burnt to death when their house caught fire in Sabzazar area here on Wednesday, sources said.

Fire-fighters and rescue teams reac­hed the house after some time and put out the blaze, but it was too late to save the children trapped inside.

Residents of the area said that Rescue 1122 personnel did not respond to their calls in time otherwise the lives of the children might have been saved.

Police said that five children, aged between five and 10, were sleeping in a room on the second floor of the house of one Shahbaz, when the fire broke out.

Two of the children were found dead while two others died of burn injuries at the Jinnah Hospital. They were Arslan, Nastaeen, Usman and Afnan.

Police said the fifth child was in critical condition.

They said the fire was caused by a short circuit and that the parents were not at home at the time.

Published in Dawn, February 4th, 2016