9 Members of a Family Charred to Death in Northwest Pakistan

Nine members of a family were charred to death on Sunday when their house caught fire in northwest Pakistan, according to a media report.

The incident took place in the Tarhi village area of Abbottabad district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Police said the deceased included a woman, her four sons and four daughters, Dawn newspaper reported. The house, which was made out of wood, caught fire after a short circuit and then collapsed, an official said.

He said that the bodies were trapped under the rubble for hours before they were retrieved by rescue teams.

The official further said that it was not possible to identify the bodies and mass graves were prepared for their burial. The head of the deceased family, Zakir Abbasi, is a resident of Karachi.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.