The incident occurred around 8:45 pm, when Laiba Shafiq (13), Hashim Shafiq (11), Hadi Shafiq (10), Hanan Shafiq (6), and their cousin Salim Fayyaz (6) were asleep in a room. In an effort to keep the children warm during the cold night, the family had placed a coal-burning brazier (angithi) inside the room. As the coals burned through the night, the room gradually filled with carbon monoxide.
The rising concentration of the poisonous gas displaced the oxygen, leading to suffocation. The children’s mother, Tayyaba, had gone to a hospital for a medical check-up at the time of the tragedy. Upon returning home, she found the children unconscious and immediately raised the alarm. Neighbors rushed them to a nearby hospital, but sadly, the doctors confirmed that all five children had died before reaching medical help.
Gujrat’s Deputy Commissioner Safdar Hussain, SP Riaz Naz, and Assistant Commissioner Bilal Zubair arrived at the hospital shortly after learning of the heartbreaking incident. They expressed their condolences to the grieving family and instructed Rescue 1122 personnel to transport the bodies to the family’s hometown, Lambur, for burial. Medical professionals stated that the cause of death was hypoxia, or oxygen deprivation, due to carbon monoxide poisoning. Authorities have issued a strong warning to the public to be extremely cautious when using coal-based heating methods to avoid similar tragedies.
