The family of a mother and her three children who were killed in a house fire at Daubhill in Bolton has been overwhelmed by messages from the community. With roots in Bharuch, many Muslims and Gujaratis have come forward to offer support and condolences to the family, from across UK, after being left shocked by this incident.
A fire broke out at the terraced house in Rosamond Street on Saturday and claimed the lives of 40 year old Aneesa Umerji,and her three children, Hamaad, Yusuf and Khadijah, aged 12, 10 and 5.
Aneesa's husband, Zubair, survived the fire by jumping from a first floor window before trying to get back into the house to rescue his family. Zubair is believed to hail from Bharuch district of Gujarat, from a village called Kantharia. His cousin Salim who still lives in that village, was contacted by a large number of people from the neighbourhood who came in masses to offer their sympathies.
Paramedics and fire crews gave the victims CPR but one of the children was pronounced dead at the scene and the woman and two other children died later in hospital.
16Eyewitness described a man as "hammering" on the door of the terraced house and one of them said she was alerted to a "commotion" at around 9am on Saturday. Crime scene investigators were at the scene, in the Daubhill area of the town, the woman said.
The resident, who asked not to be named, said: "It's terrible, absolutely terrible. I saw them bringing people out. They were doing chest compressions.
"I saw them bring two out and then they put a green sheet up.
"It was 9am this morning when I heard all this commotion. There was just a load of hammering, banging on a door.
"I went to the window and saw smoke billowing.
"When I saw him after he had his hands bandaged up and his head."
Another eyewitness, Aymen Mohamed told a local newspaper that he had been visiting his grandmother when the fire broke out.
The 24-year-old said "Early this morning about 9am there was smoke emerging from the house and noises of shouting.
"I didn't see the man but it was said he jumped from the back window which faced the backstreet, so it was hard to see.
"I knew of the family, but not as friendly.
"I saw the grandmother of the kids crying once it was known they were dead."
A teacher Simon Greenwood from Hamad's school wrote a poem, dedicating it to the child who lost his life in the fire. The poem read as following:
“My little man
I had the honour and the privilege,
To get to know a special kid,
He'd drive some people crackers,
With the mischievous things he did,
An awesome sense of humour,
Personality enough for two,
Independent and determined,
There's nothing he couldn't do,
Playing cricket outside,
On a sunny afternoon,
Listening on repeat,
To the Eastenders theme tune,
The trampoline a favourite,
That brought that cheeky grin,
Or playing with the Mosque clock,
The ultimate for him,
He brought a special comedy,
With lunches lasting forever,
He could bring you fits of giggles,
With a perfectly timed 'WHATEVER',
Custard or animal biscuits
He was as happy as could be,
Heart as big as a lion,
He always did save one for me,
Always talking of his family,
Really gave him pride,
No one could ever doubt,
The love he had inside,
These words don't do him justice,
But words never can,
To know him was to love him,
Goodnight my little man.”
The burial of the four family members took place at New Overdale Cemetery in Chorley New Road, after the funeral at Zakariyya Jaame Masjid in Peace Street on Tuesday.
Mr Ali thanked the coroner's office for their work to ensure that the bodies could be released.
Speaking about Mr Umerji, who continues to recover in hospital, Mr Ali reportedly said: "He is clearly devastated and he is being supported by those who are closest to him. They are morally supporting him in every way."
Tony Hunter, assistant county officer with Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS), said they saw man banging on the door of the house, and found him "distraught", when they arrived.
"We found a man who had jumped from the first floor window, straight through the window on to concrete," he said.
"He got up and then was smashing his hands through the glass of the ground floor window.
"He was breaking the windows with his hands.
"He was covered in cuts.
"He was absolutely distraught, screaming (that) his wife and children were in there."
He added that the family was 'well respected' and 'close knit' in the community.
The inquest into the deaths were opened on Monday at Bolton Coroner's Court.
The provisional cause of death for all four family members was given as smoke inhalation.
The inquest was adjourned to 10am on Thursday, November 30 and will resume at Bolton Coroner's Court.
Detective Chief Inspector Chris Bridge, from GMP's Bolton borough, appealed for witnesses.
He said: "These are utterly heart-breaking circumstances and our thoughts go out to anyone affected by this tragic incident.
"This appears to be a family home and we have been working to inform loved ones of this awful loss."
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said: "Dreadful news coming out of Bolton today. My thoughts are with the family, their friends & the whole community."
