8 children, mother die in Abbottabad roof collapse

By
Abrar Rasheed
A representational image of police tape. — AFP/File
A representational image of police tape. — AFP/File

  • Roof collapses due to fire by short-circuit.
  • Incident takes place in Abbottabad's Tahari village.
  • Locals initially retrieved 7 bodies from under rubble.


ABBOTTABAD: Nine members of the same family, including a mother and her eight children, were killed in a tragic incident after a roof of their house collapsed due to fire caused by a short-circuit, Geo News reported Sunday. 

The roof of the kucha (mud) house collapsed in Abbottabad's Tahari village due to a fire caused by a short-circuit after which nine family members were trapped under the rubble, according to rescue officials. 

Locals initially retrieved seven bodies from under the rubble while the rescue operation for two other family members was underway. Later, the bodies of all nine family members were recovered from the rubble.

The deceased family members included a mother and eight children, added the rescue officials.

The Rescue 1122, along with three ambulances and locals made concerted efforts to extinguish the fire and rescue the residents, according to state-run APP.

Unfortunately, the wood and clay house quickly caught fire, impeding rescue activities.

The deceased persons were identified as the wife of Zakir, four daughters and four sons, including Hashim, Qasim, Hasan, and Sufyan.

The community mourns the loss as authorities work to investigate the cause of the tragic incident and ensure the safety of other residents in the area.

In July this year, a deadly fire killed 10 members of the same family, including an infant and woman, when the compressor of their refrigerator exploded in a house in the Bhati Gate area of Lahore.

The deceased included a man, his wife, two other women, five children and a seven-month-old baby. Only one member of the family managed to escape the deadly fire by jumping off the building.

Rescue officials had confirmed that the fire broke out due to an explosion in the fridge's compressor. They said the house had no ventilation to let the smoke out.