An investigation committee headed by the Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) South has been formed to probe the recent Karachi hotel fire.
At least 12 people were killed when the four-star Regent Plaza Hotel caught fire early on Monday, and 75 people suffered injuries.
The bodies of the victims have been sent to their local towns where burial ceremonies are underway. Grief-stricken families mourned the unexpected deaths of their loved ones in the incident.
The dead included Civil Hospital Nawabshah Assistant Professor Dr Abdur Raheem Solangi who was soon to be married, nurse Rubi Saveeta the daughter of a tailor in Toba Tek Singh, a Gujranwala couple who were staying at the hotel to attend a wedding and Umerkot’s District Health Officer Dr Mohan Talwani.
The fire is said to have started in the kitchen, but according to police, terrorist involvement cannot be ruled out.
An investigation into the incident is still underway and a final report will be released in the light of the evidence collected, in one week’s time. The report will also be shared with the media.
The police say that there was no fire safety plan in place at the hotel, not did the fire alarms work. “There were no safe fire exits,” the police spokesperson said, adding that negligence could not be ruled out yet.
The fire spread through the air conditioning ducts, engulfing a major part of the hotel in flames. Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire four hours after it began with the help of three fire tenders.
