LAHORE - Two minor children burnt alive when a fire erupted inside their house at Wahdat Road on Tuesday evening, police sources said.

Local residents staged demonstration against the Punjab Emergency Service (Rescue-1122), which failed to respond to the emergency on time.
The fire, which broke out at the house of Adnan Malik due to short-circuiting, engulfed the entire apartment within no time, locals said. As a result, three-year-old Shahzaib Malik, and his two-year-old sister Ayesha Malik sustained multiple injuries and died on the spot. Local residents told the police that the father was at work while mother of the deceased went to get some food from a nearby shop when the fire broke out following short-circuiting.
Saira Bibi, mother of the kids, told reporters that the rescue workers failed to respond to the emergency on time. According to her, officials of the Rescue-1122 arrived at the site 30 minutes after they were alerted by the local residents. The entire house was reduced to ashes though the locals managed to put out the fire at their own.
The locals also said the house was totally burnt and the children died when the firefighters reached the site. They also protested against the service, stating that the rescuers were badly prepared and they and not even the required machinery and tools to control the fire instantly.
However, an official of the Rescue-1122 claimed that the children recovered suffocated to death. According to him the fire erupted as a result of short-circuiting. Further investigations were underway.
FOUND DEAD: A 45-year-old van conductor found dead under mysterious circumstances from the Kot Lakhpat police area on Tuesday.
Resident of Mian Channu, Khizar Hayat, was recovered dead from his van. The van driver told the police that Hayat used to sleep in the van during nighttime.  The police have shifted the body to the morgue for autopsy and are investigating.