Father whose wife and five children perished in blaze leaves hospital

By ALEX DIAZ
Published on 22/10/2012 01:26

A MAN whose wife and five children were killed in a house fire has been discharged from hospital.

Dr Abdul Shakoor was being treated at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford for minor injuries sustained on Monday, as he fought to rescue his family from the blaze at their house in Harlow, Essex.

He lost his wife, Dr Sabah Usmani, and their children – Hira, 12, Sohaib, 11, Muneeb, nine, Rayyan, six, and Maheen, three –in the tragedy.

A spokesman for the Mid-Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust said: “I can confirm that Dr Shakoor has been discharged from the St Andrews Centre for plastic surgery and burns at Broomfield Hospital.”

The spokesman said that he had been released late on Friday.

Dr Shakoor had been moved to Broomfield Hospital to be nearer his daughter Maheen, but the three-year-old died of her injuries on Thursday.

Dr Usmani and her four eldest children all died on Monday shortly after the fire.

Essex Police had initially treated the blaze as suspicious, but no trace of any accelerant used to fuel the flames has been found.

Although officers continue to investigate all possibilities, it was now thought “increasingly likely” the fire was anaccident, police said.