Karachi hotel fire kills at least 11

KARACHI: At least 11 people were killed when a fire broke out in a hotel located at Karachi’s Shahrah-e-Faisal on Sunday night, ARY News reported.

The blaze, which broke out on the ground floor of the hotel, killed at least 11 people and injured 74 others including Rangers personnel.

The 11 deceased included four women, five doctors and the manager of the hotel, officials said. Most of the people died of suffocation.

Around 30 injured said to be in a precarious condition.

The people died in the hotel fire included a trader Rehmat, a nurse Ruby, an employee of a private company Naureen, hotel manager Ilyas and two District Health Officers including Hassan Lashari, police surgeon Dr. Kaleem Shaikh said.

The death toll is feared to increase as several injured have been in critical condition.

The dead bodies and the injured were shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC).

Three fire tenders arrived at the scene for fire fighting. The rescue workers managed to rescue the people trapped inside the building. The fire was extinguished after three hours of struggle.

The fire teams faced problems in the rescue operation due to the thick smoke which filled the building.

Rescue teams have said that all the persons inside the building have been evacuated. However, the rescue operation is ongoing.

Chief Minister orders inquiry

Chief Minister of Sindh Murad Ali Shah has expressed grief over the loss of lives and condoled with the families who lost their loved ones in the fire incident.

Shah ordered the officials to hold inspection of safety measures in all hotels of the province and asked the Civil Defence Department to submit a report over the matter.

Shah also directed the authorities to launch an inquiry into the incident. The probe committee will include officials of the Home Department, Labour Department and Karachi Municipal Corporation, he said.

He also telephoned Commissioner Karachi Ejaz Ahmed Khan and directed him to investigate the fire incident on his own.