Fire that broke out at Saddar’s Cooperative Market has been doused by the firefighters after hours of struggle.
Several shops, pushcarts and stalls were gutted in the fire causing losses worth rupees 5-10 billion. However, no casualties were reported.
As many as eight fire tenders took part in the rescue and relief operation.The fire has been brought under control now, however, the process of cooling is underway which may take a few more hours, the fire brigade official said.
“Yesterday, it was a holiday so many shops were closed which are now being checked after breaking the locks,” the official said.
Meanwhile, Abdullah Haroon Road remains closed for traffic due to rescue and relief operations at the Cooperative Market, which is causing traffic jams.
At least 35 shops were reduced to rubble after a fire broke out on Sunday evening at Cooperative Market near Regal Chowk in Karachi’s Saddar area.
Earlier, the fire department officials had said that four fire tenders along with firefighting teams from different fire stations of the city were sent to the spot immediately.
They said that the fire broke out in one shop and soon engulfed several other shops in the market.
The number of shops gutted in the Saddar Cooperative Market fire so far has reached 250-300, according to traders.
The traders, whose businesses were reduced to ashes in the Cooperative Market fire a day ago, have cited a short-circuit as a possible reason behind this incident.Per details, 90% of the market and warehouse were destroyed and a loss worth Rs5-10 billion has been incurred.
The owners of the shops are trying to remove leftover stock from the market, while some part of the market is still blazing under fire as rescue operations continue.
They said the fire erupted in a shop located on the ground floor and it rapidly spread to the first floor. The fire engulfed several cloths and other items shops, but no one was hurt in the incident as the famous market was closed on account of weekend.
Commissioner of Karachi Iqbal Memon told media that the blaze started around 6.45pm and he reached there in 10 minutes to supervise the whole operation.
“It’s a cloths market and the fire reached third category within a few minutes,” he said.Traders lamented that despite such a hefty loss, no official visited the place.
