Rehan Qayoom Mir
Srinagar, Jan 06 : As the night unfolded in Srinagar city on Sunday, a tragedy struck the entire Pandrathan area when five members of a single family from Uri, Baramulla, who were living in a rented accommodation, lost their lives due to a suffocation incident.
In the incident, five members of the family, including Ajaz Ahmad Bhat (38), his wife Saleema (32), and their three children—Areeb (3), Hamza (18 months), and a month-old infant girl died.
Eyewitnesses from Pandrathan, Srinagar, speaking with the news agency said the incident occurred at night, between 9 and 10 PM, when they received a call from Uri about engaging the inmates living there.
They said the family members of Ajaz Ahmad Bhat, who was living with his family there, called to inquire about them as they had not been receiving their calls. When they visited the house, they found all five family members lying unconscious on the ground.
The house owner, Mukhtar Ahmad, told KNO he received a call from Ajaz’s family asking about him since he had not been responding to their repeated calls. “I got a call from Ajaz’s family, who live in Uri, Baramulla, asking how Ajaz is, as he is not receiving their repeated calls,” he said.
He continued: “I soon sent another person to the room where he was staying, but they didn’t open it. When the door was finally opened, he called me and said, ‘Here are all the five family members lying on the ground and they are unconscious.’
He said, “We all from the area visited there and saw an ‘electric blower’ in the room. We then shifted them to the hospital, where they were declared dead on arrival by doctors.”
Another neighbour said, it was a heart-wrenching incident. “We could only watch in disbelief as the bodies were taken to the hospital.”
Meanwhile, the bodies of all five family members were shifted to Gingal, Uri, Baramulla, where they were laid to rest amid sobs and tears.
