Eight members of a family died and two injured when fire erupted in a house in the Baldia Town here in the wee hours of Monday. Police said the eldest son Sajjad of Gulzara Bibi, who had survived the blaze, told them his mother was mentally unstable and set a room on fire after locking the house from inside.
Police said that the mother, her three daughters and four sons were in one room. Four of them were already burnt to death as fire brigade rushed to the scene while three other succumbed to injuries on their way to Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK).
The victims have been identified as Gulzara Bibi, Nazia, Zafar, Naila, Rehan, Rukkaiya, Tayyab and Aqsa while Sajid and Sain Daad have been injured. The neighbours said that fire had engulfed the house as soon as they started making efforts to put it out.
Sajjad told the police that his mother was mentally unstable and was undergoing treatment for the past two years. He said that he fell asleep when the fire encircled the house. Initial investigation by the police had revealed that the father of the deceased children had left for work when fire broke out at his house.