KARACHI, Jan 9: The medical authorities have handed over DNA samples obtained from victims of the blaze in North Karachi to the police to assist in their identification, while the bodies which remained unidentified have now been deposited at the Edhi morgue in Sohrab Goth, according to the Medical Superintendent of the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.

“I had just reached my home in Gulistan-i-Jauhar after the day of emergency at the hospital, which had been declared for Ashura, when one of my doctors called me to tell me that three burnt bodies had been brought to the hospital,” said MS Dr Mashood-uz-Zafar Farooq, recollecting the incident. Dr Zafar then told the calling doctor to remain on alert, and to call him again if more casualties arrived.

“I was in the middle of dinner when the doctor called me again,” he says, “informing me that two more charred bodies had been received.” The calling doctor feared more casualties were on the way, as he felt a tragic incident had occurred. Having left the hospital just an hour earlier, Dr Zafar returned during the wee hours of Friday morning to do his part at the hospital.

The first set of bodies arrived at Abbasi Shaheed hospital at around 11.45pm, followed by more casualties brought in by the Edhi, Chhipa and Khidmat-i-Khalq ambulance services. In total, 40 adults and minors were brought in till about 2am. The site of the fire, a cluster of huts surrounded on three sides by concrete structures in North Karachi, was completely gutted.

Dr Zafar noted that unlike in other emergency situations, there were no scenes of mourning or anxious relatives waiting by the emergency room. He recalled, however, that many members of the media appeared, in a rush to get footage of the casualties, most of whom were curled with fists raised (the normal fire victim’s position). A doctor opined that this indicated that most of the victims died in their sleep.

Only a few people visited the hospital on Friday to identify the bodies of relatives, lending credence to the view that all members of a few families were killed by the blaze, leaving no-one to mourn their deaths or even identify their bodies, a doctor said. He added that the smell of charred flesh still lingered in the air at the hospital.

Just one male adult and one baby child were treated at the hospital for their injuries. They were later discharged, after being given treatment for superficial wounds.

Dr Zafar confirmed that no firm reason for the fire has been provided to hospital staff, and that the postures of the dead suggest that the fire engulfed them instantly in their sleep. He added that there were no indications that the victims were electrocuted at any stage of the fire.

He said that during the process of examination, two babies were found embracing, or attached to, their mothers, and that they had to be separated when the bodies were being counted.

He confirmed the deaths of 40 people, including 22 children. At least 12 of the children were girls, their ages estimated to be between one and 14 years. The 18 adult bodies included six men and 12 women.