Nine dead in Dadu after fire guts several homes

PM assures relief for victims, directs NDMA for rehabilitation efforts

For visual reference only

As many as nine people, including six children, were burnt alive and several other persons were wounded when a fire erupted at different places after a dust storm hit tehsil Mehar of district Dadu in Sindh province.

The devastating fire that broke out suddenly erupted in one of the houses and engulfed the entire village of Faiz Mohammad Chandio. The inferno left as many as 20 people with burn injuries, and nine of them later died due to severe burns.

Soon after the fire, people informed the officials in different towns of the district, but no fire tender arrived to put out the blaze.

According to reports, over 140 houses and other structures were destroyed by the inferno. The affected villagers informed that over one hundred cattle heads also perished in the fire.

The fire victims alleged that all their valuables had been reduced to ashes, but no elected member from the district bothered to visit their devastated village to help them. They said they had been rendered shelterless and forced to live under open skies during the hot weather.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, expressing condolence over the deaths, assured the victims’ families that the federal government would take measures for their relief. The prime minister directed the National Disaster Management Authority to provide all possible support for the rehabilitation of the victim families.

He also said that he would take up the matter with the Sindh government and call for a financial relief package for them. The prime minister sympathised with the villagers and conveyed his grief over the loss of their properties. He also prayed for peace for the departed souls and strength for the bereaved families to bear the loss.

Hanif Samoon is a senior journalist based at Thar/Badin and contributes reports from different districts of Sindh to Minute Mirror. He has won a number of awards, including the Agahi Award twice for his stories on health and child rights. He tweets @HanifSamoon1 and can be reached through email at [email protected]