At least 11 killed & 50 injured, including foreigners, in Pakistan hotel fire

HomeNews At least 11 people were killed and 75 others injured when a huge fire erupted at Karachi's Regent Plaza hotel early Monday, police and a doctor said. Some people used sheets to climb down the building. — DawnNews Some people used sheets to climb down the building. — DawnNews The blaze broke out in the kitchen located at the ground floor of the four-star hotel located on the city's Shahrah-i-Faisal, and swept through the building, trapping scores of hotel guests in their rooms. Three trucks from the fire brigade reached the site and started an operation to rescue the guests. The firefighters were able to contain the blaze after three hours, with 11 people having been killed, said a press release issued by the Saddar Police Station. No fire exits? Karachi mayor Waseem Akhtar speaking to reporters said the cause of the fire could not be immediately ascertained. He said the hotel had "no fire exits or fire alarms". Karachi mayor talks to reporters. “We have received 11 dead bodies and 75 injured,” Dr Seemin Jamali, head of the emergency services at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, told AFP. Amongst the injured were people who had fractured bones after jumping from hotel windows to escape, others had been hurt by shattered glass and many were treated for smoke inhalation, she said. She said six men, including three doctors and the hotel's front desk manager, and five women were among the dead. Three foreigners affected by the fire are in a stable condition, said Jamali. Guests gather outside Regent Plaza Hotel following the fire. — AFP Guests gather outside Regent Plaza Hotel following the fire. — AFP Most of the country's buildings don't meet safety standards to avoid such mishaps. TV footage of the incident showed guests at the hotel using bedsheets to climb down from windows. A man standing at a balcony kept waving for help but the hotel didn't have any means to reach him, a survivor, Hamid Ali, told a local television channel. He said the guests were sleeping when the fire broke out. 'Most people died due to suffocation' Chief Fire Office Tehseen Siddiqui told DawnNews that although the blaze was not very intense and was contained "quite early", the smoke kept circulating inside because the air conditioning system stayed on. Siddiqui said there was no exhaust inside and due to this "most people suffocated to death". He further said that the hotel has now been evacuated completely. UBL players among injured Cricket players from the United Bank Limited (UBL) team were among those injured in the blaze. The team, which was staying at the fourth floor of the hotel, woke up to the fire, said Nadeem Khan, head of the UBL Sports Department. He said bowler Yasim Murtaza's ankle was fractured as he jumped from the second floor to save his life and the player is now recovering at a hospital. Karamat Ali was also injured. International cricketer Sohaib Maqsood was also staying at the hotel but remained safe in the fire, said Nadeem, adding that Maqsood also helped rescue people. He said the UBL Quaid-i-Azam trophy match against Habib Bank Limited would be postponed today. At least 11 killed & 50 injured, including foreigners, in Pakistan hotel fire Published time: 5 Dec, 2016 04:54 Edited time: 5 Dec, 2016 05:55 Get short URL © Newsonepk © Newsonepk / YouTube A massive fire at a hotel in Karachi, Pakistan, has killed at least 11 people, according to officials cited by AP. More than 50 others, including foreigners, have reportedly been injured. The fire began in the hotel kitchen in the early hours of Monday, according to police officer Tauqeer Naeem. The exact cause of the fire is not yet known. Some of the deaths were caused by suffocation, according to Dr. Semi Jamali of Jinnah's Hospital in Karachi. At least 65 people were brought to the emergency department, Jamali told local outlet Dawn. Among the patients were people who had fractured bones after jumping from windows, those who had been hurt by shattered glass and many who had suffered from smoke inhalation. Jamali said that foreigners are among those being treated for burns. Thirty of those injured are in critical condition, Jamali said, noting that the death toll is expected to rise, Xinhua reported. Senior police official Saqib Memon said the fire has been extinguished, and a search-and-rescue operation is under way inside the hotel. The hotel had “no fire exits or fire alarms,” according to Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar, as quoted by Dawn newspaper.