KARACHI: A fire broke out on Wednesday in another market in Victoria Shopping Centre located at Abdullah Haroon Road in Saddar area of Karachi.
The blaze has intensified in minutes and the busy road to the shopping centre was closed for traffic. The cause of the fire was not yet known. A firefighting vehicle has arrived at the locality while heavy contingents of law enforcement agencies also rushed to the scene.
The shopping centre was immediately evacuated by rescue teams. The blaze reportedly erupted on the fifth floor of Victoria Shopping Centre. No loss was life was reported so far in the incident.
Karachi Administrator Murtaza Wahab said, “Another case of fire has been reported near Zainab Market, Karachi. The fire brigade team of KMC is present at the site to control the situation. Will keep everyone posted.”
“Besides fire tenders, snorkel is also present at site. All efforts are being made by KMC fire officers and the administration to control the situation,” he added.
Firefighters and rescue workers responded to a fire in Saddar. As the fire brigade did not arrive on time after the fire broke out, the shopkeepers started trying to control the fire on their own. Fire brigade vehicles along with firefighters were dispatched to the spot. Eyewitnesses say a stampede broke out at the Victoria Centre.
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Earlier this week, dozens of shops were gutted in a recent fire at the Cooperative Market in Saddar area as the business community lost valuable equipment worth billions of rupees. Two persons were injured in a horrific fire while firefighters managed to control the blaze after a continuous struggle of over seven hours.
Ten fire tenders had taken part in the operation to control a major blaze in the shopping hub of Karachi. Several shops, pushcarts and stalls were gutted in the fire causing losses worth millions of rupees. However, no casualties were reported in the incident.
