Seven family members burnt to death as fire guts house in Pakistan

Gulf Today Report 

At least seven members of a family were killed in a fire that erupted in their house located in Muzaffargarh district of Pakistan's Punjab province on Sunday, local officials said.

The family members were asleep when the big fire broke out, giving them no chance to escape, local media reported citing a district emergency officer as saying

Among the killed were two women and four children aged between two months and 10 years.

The blaze erupted at a house in the Ali Pur area of Muzaffargarh district, located some 380 kilometres from the provincial capital, Lahore.

District Police Officer (DPO) Hassan Iqbal said police were investigating the incident, adding that all details of the case will be disclosed soon.

Rescue service chief Dr Hussain Mian said firefighters retrieved the charred bodies of a 65-year-old man, two women aged 35 and 19, three boys aged 3, 10 and 12 and a 2-month-old infant.

Dr Mian said the bodies had been sent for autopsy and forensic examination.

Later in the day, a case was registered at the Civil Lines Police Station against two suspects on charges of burning to death seven people.

The case was registered on the complaint of Mehmood, a brother of one of the deceased persons. "I was in Multan for business. When I returned and was near my home, I saw it in flames. While two men Manzoor Hussain and Sabir Hussain were also seen fleeing the spot," he told police in a statement.

Regarding the possible motive, Mehmood said that he had married a woman named Fouzia Bibi out of free will, alleging that his father-in-law and brother-in-law were unhappy with the marriage and they set his home ablaze "in rage."

Police said the cause of the fire was being investigated, adding that officials were trying to ascertain why none of the family members woke up when the fire erupted.