A burning cigarette in a thatched hut caused an entire family of six, including five children, to be killed in a blazing fire in Pakistan's Punjab province, police said on Friday.
The fire broke out in the hut in Sanawan area of Muzaffargarh district, and burnt a woman and her five children to death, police said.
The fire was caused when a burning cigarette fell on the mattress and quickly spread through the thatched hut, officers said.
Three people were rescued and rushed to the hospital. However, in the absence of a burns unit in any hospital of the area, it was unlikely that the injured would receive proper medical care and survive, Geo News reported.
All the victims were engaged in making baskets and sheets with bamboo slits.
--IANS
ahm/vt