In a tragic incident in Karachi, 11 people were killed and 60 plus injured in a deadly fire which struck Regent Plaza hotel earlier this morning.
Among the hotel guests were eight to nine Pakistani cricketers including international stars Sohaib Maqsood, Umar Amin and Hammad Azam Maqsood. Few of the other domestic cricketers namely Aamer Yamin and Shahzaib sustained minor injuries while Yasin Murtaza fractured his foot while jumping off the second floor of the hotel in order to save himself.
The cricketers were in Karachi to take part in Pakistan’s domestic tournament Quaid-e-Azam trophy however, they will not take part in today’s matches for United Bank Limited.The injured were taken to Karachi’s Jinnah Hospital where the head of emergency Dr. Semi Jamali claimed that most of the deaths were caused due to suffocation.
Maqsood, along with the other cricketers helped in the evacuation of the hotel and apparently helped save a few families while doing so.
"We tried to escape through the emergency exit door and broke the windows’ glass to call for help as breathing inside was difficult due to suffocation", Maqsood said to Dunya news.
It took the rescue team about 4 hours to distinguish the fire and save over 100 people with the help of a crane.
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29-year-old Maqsood who is a middle order batsman for Pakistan made his debut back in 2013 and has played 26 ODIs and 20 T-20 International so far with an average of 31.95 in ODIs and a high score of 89. Amin, on the other hand, has featured in 4 Tests and 15 ODIs while Hammad Azam has played in 11 ODIs for Pakistan.
They all play an integral role in the success of the United Bank Limited who are currently second in their super 8 stage of Pakistan’s premier domestic tournament. Currently, however, the team management of UBL is trying to contact PCB to postpone or forfeit today's play as it feels that the players are not in a position to carry on with cricket.
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