KARACHI, Pakistan: As many as 11 people were killed while 65 others including three Pakistani Cricketers Sohaib Maqsood, Aamer Yamin and Shahzaib sustained injuries in a deadly inferno at Regent Plaza Hotel in Karachi on Monday.
The fire erupted in the kitchen located on the first floor of four-star Regent Plaza Hotel on Karachi’s Shahra-e-Faisal and later swept through the building.
The injured were rushed to Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre (JPMC) while the blaze was put out by the fire tenders after two hours’ struggle.
The Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah took prompt notice of the fire incident and ordered an inquiry.
Talking to media, Karachi Police Chief Mushtaq Mahar said that an investigation team had been constituted under SSP South Police to probe the incident. He said that the investigation team visited the incident scene and collected samples.
Meanwhile talking to media, Cricketer Sohaib Maqsood informed that there were eight to nine players in the hotel while they come to know about the fire at 3.13am.
“We tried to escape through emergence exit door and broke the windows’ glass to call for help as breathing inside was difficult due to suffocation”, he said.
Sohaib Maqsood said that first class cricketer Yasin Murtaza got his foot fractured after jumping off second floor of the hotel.
The Cricketers were staying in Karachi to participate in the Quaid-e-Azam trophy; however, they would not take part in today’s matches.