Fire in Korangi

Four of a family perish in blaze

Thursday, September 10, 2009
By our correspondent

Karachi

Four members of a family were burnt to death when a fire broke out in a house in Korangi on Wednesday.

Four members of a family died due to burn wounds, while two others were injured. A case was reported in Korangi. The deceased were identified as 38-year-old Zubaida, 14-year-old Iqra, 10-year-old Talha and four-year-old Ayesha. The police said that the incident was reported inside House No. LS-1, Sector-35A, Korangi 3 1/2.

During investigation, it was found that during power load-shedding in the area late Tuesday night, Zubaida’s husband, Tufail, switch on a pedestal fan and the family fell asleep. Tufail had thought that the fan would start working as soon as the electricity came back. After a few hours, when the electricity came back, a high-voltage power surge caused sparks in the circuitry, and a fire erupted inside the house. Tufail shouted for help, and the neighbours came to the rescue.

They shifted Tufail, his wife Zubaida, their daughters Iqra and Ayesha, and sons Talha and Farhan to a local hospital, where Zubaida, Iqra, Ayesha and Talha succumbed to their injuries, while Tufail and six-year-old Farhan were said to be unconscious till the time this report was filed. Tufail is a mason by profession. However, the fire department claims that it never received a call about the incident and thus never sent a tender.

A case was reported at the police station.

Brother of ex-IG shot dead: The brother of former IG Balochistan Aga Masood Gohar was shot dead in the Ferozeabad police limits on Wednesday. SHO Ferozeabad, Orangzeb Khattak, said that the victim, identified as 62-year-old Aga Jalal Gohar, was a resident of House H-23, Block-3, PECHS, Ferozeabad and a director of the recovery department in SME Bank, Karachi.

During investigation, it was found that on Wednesday morning, when Gohar came out of his house to go to work, two unidentified men on a motorcycle shot and injured him and fled. The victim was immediately shifted to a hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

Aga Jalal Gohar was said to have good relations with bureaucrats and officers in the Sindh police department. His wife had died a few years ago. He leaves behind a son who studies at a private university in Karachi. The police said that the murder was probably due to some personal enmity.

MISHAPS: A man identified as Mohammed Sharif died due to electrocution in Shershah, while he was repairing wires at a milk shop. He was a resident of the same area.

In a separate case, 24-year-old Naveed Imran was crushed to death by a speeding trailer n the Gadap City police limits. The police said that the victim was a resident of Gulberg and worked at a private firm. On Wednesday afternoon, he was going to the Toll Plaza on the Super Highway for some work, when a speeding trailer crushed him to death.