10 family members killed in house fire in Pakistan’s Punjab province

Islamabad, July 12

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At least 10 members of a family, including seven children, were killed on Wednesday morning when a massive fire broke out in a house in Lahore, the capital of Pakistan’s Punjab province, police said.

The incident occurred in the Bhati Gate area of Punjab’s provincial capital, local police officer Mohammad Sajjad said, confirming the deaths.

Those killed in the blaze belonged to the same family, Lahore Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Operations, Ali Nasir Rizvi, was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper.

The ten deceased family members included a seven-month-old infant, a four-year-old child, as well as five teenagers, a list released by Rescue 1122 emergency service said.

A single member of the family managed to escape the fire by jumping off the building, Geo News channel reported.

Rescue 1122 emergency service was alerted about the fire at 2:32 am and deployed 33 rescuers and 11 vehicles to the incident’s location, the department said in an official statement.

The fire erupted on the house’s second floor, located in a “very congested area”, it said.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed “deep sorrow and grief” over the incident and “prayed for the departed souls”, reported Radio Pakistan.

Interim Chief Minister of Punjab, Mohsin Naqvi, ordered a comprehensive investigation into the incident, the report said.