KARACHI, April 10 Three children were burnt to death in two separate fires in shanty towns in the Gulistan-i-Jauhar area on Friday.

The fires broke out within three hours of each other, and fire-fighters, investigators and witnesses were unable to explain the cause of either blaze.

The two incidents claimed the lives of two three-year-old girls - Shehla and Misbah - and a one-and-a-half-year-old boy, Mohsin.

All three were trapped inside their huts when the fires engulfed them.

The first incident occurred in Block 19 of the locality, on a piece of land which houses nearly 15 huts belonging to people from upcountry. Records at the Central Fire Station say the incident was reported at 11.27am, and that three fire tenders were sent to the spot at that time.Police in the area said that the fire spread across almost the entire place within a few minutes, which forced residents to leave the area in a state of panic.

Nadeem, Shehla`s father, initially managed to rescue his daughter when the fire broke out, and brought her to his wife, Hajra, outside the affected area, according to witnesses.

“After leaving them on the main road, when he returned to his hut to collect unaffected household items, the little girl followed her father, ignorant of the danger,” said an eyewitness.

“The father, who returned to a safer place outside the affected area after remaining in his hut for only a few seconds, did not realise that his daughter was still inside the burning hut.”

Witnesses said it was only the little girl`s screams at the last minute which made people in the area realise that she was still inside the hut.

“But by that time it was too late and police prevented everyone from entering the affected area,” added another witness.

Police said the shaken father decided not to lodge a case with the police station, and investigators said the man was too traumatised to even share any information about his family.

“We have entered the incident in Roznamcha but would welcome any of the family members if they want to register a proper FIR,” said Inspector Khalid Javed, SHO Sharea Faisal police station.

He said that the people who resided in the shanty town were from Rahim Yar Khan and are all relatives.

In another incident, a three-year-old girl, Misbah, and a one-and-a-half-year-old boy, Mohsin, died when their huts, along with four others in an open plot in Block 12 of Gulistan-i-Jauhar, burned down. The two children were not related.

The Central Fire Station records say the incident was recorded at 2.03pm, with no reason being given for it.

Witnesses said both children were alone in their separate huts when the fire broke out, as their parents worked as domestic servants in nearby bungalows and hence were at their jobs.

The area police said that the owner of the 400-yard plot allowed the inhabitants to use land for their temporary shelters.

“Saleh Muhammad Lakho, who is settled in Nawabshah, is the owner of this plot and he allowed these people the facility. Residents of all six huts there belong to his tribe,” said Inspector Javed, the SHO Sharea Faisal police station.

He said the police had been told that the owner of the plot would be visiting the city on Saturday and lodging an FIR as a complainant.

Though three fire tenders reached the site of each fire, witnesses said there was little opportunity to fight the fires.

The authorities defended the fire-fighters` operations, saying that the fires in these towns spread quickly and did not allow time for fire-fighters to put them out.

“Huts are made of bamboo and straw mats, which cannot resist any fire, even for seconds,” said Saleem Ehtashamuddin, the CDGK`s chief fire officer. “In such cases fire-fighters can only stop the fire from spreading outside a particular area, and rescue people inside, if there are any.”

Though the police had no explanation for the occurrence of two fires in such close vicinity to each other, the fire department suspects natural causes coupled with possible human error may be to blame.

“The weather is quite dry and there is also friction with lower ratio of humidity, which allow sparks to become fires,” said Ehtashamuddin, the chief fire officer. “In these types of shanty towns, you can never expect proper installation of utility services. Whether there is an electricity or gas supply, they are all supplied in an unconventional way, which further increases the risk of an incident.”

He said that for the last couple of weeks, the fire department had been registering almost two incidents everyday.