LAHORE: Two sisters received burns and the valuables, including their dowry articles, were reduced to ashes after a fire broke out in their house at Said Mitha Bazaar in the Bhati Gate area on Thursday.

A police official said the fire had erupted from the gas heater which later spread to the entire house. He said the house of the girls, namely Safia, 22, and Arooj, 20, was located at the top floor of the multi-storey building.

As soon as the fire broke out, the girls tried to rush out of the premises but failed due to ill-planned structure of the building.

The fire engines of Rescue 1122 reached the site late because of narrow streets and inaccessible area, the police official added. however, the firefighters managed to control the blaze after efforts of about two hours. They rushed the burnt girls to a local hospital where the condition of one of them was stated to be serious.

He said the family had fixed the girls’ marriage next month and had got dowry articles for them over the years.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2020