Three Generations Killed
Five people have died following a serious house fire on Wake Road, Sharrow, Sheffield.
The people who died are believed to be two adult females and three young children, have been named as Shabina Begum, 54, her daughter Anum Parvaiz, 20, Adhyan and Amaan Nazim, aged nine and seven, and their baby sister.
Four fire engines from Central, Rivelin, Lowedges and Mansfield Road stations, plus an aerial ladder platform, dealt with the incident alongside the police and ambulance services after a 999 call was received at around 12.15am.
An investigation has commenced, involving police and fire officers, to establish the cause of the fire.
A cousin of the family, Mr Hussain Kayani, said, “She was, to my children, like a mother, like an aunt. The whole community is in huge shock.’ They were full of life, quite bubbly, very energetic. They were looking forward to attending school. They went over the weekend to do the shopping for school.’
“I believe the mother of the children, I think she was in the house. She managed to escape. The grandmother of the children, she made attempts to rescue the children but obviously it wasn’t to be.
‘She came out then went back in, tried her level best. Frantic attempts were made to rescue the children.’
‘As soon as the news broke just after midnight we came round. I’ve been with the family.
‘It’s so sad. A couple of hours ago the whole family was leading their normal life – quite prosperous, happy.
‘Just in a matter of minutes the whole family has been destroyed. The whole family has gone.
‘You can well imagine what the children’s parents are going through. I don’t have the words to describe how the family is feeling other than shell-shocked, devastated.
‘We are a close-knit family, there are enough people around to support the family. They were such a lovely family, highly respected. Quite an industrious family who had everything going. This tragedy has struck and we have to try our level best to pull through this.’
