A devastating fire engulfed the Arshi shopping mall in Karachi’s Ayesha Manzil area on Wednesday evening, leaving several people trapped inside, who were all rescued.
The inferno was declared ‘third degree’. The blaze erupted around 5:47 pm, originating in a cloth shop and rapidly spreading to neighbouring stores of foam and furniture.
One person has been reported critically injured in the incident, and he was shifted to hospital for treatment.
Evacuation
Rescue 1122 director stated that approximately 300 individuals had been safely evacuated from the building. He further noted that firefighters anticipate extinguishing the fire completely by 10pm.
How it started?
A worker in a cloth shop at the market witnessed the fire starting from a gas cylinder.
Shopkeepers in the affected store immediately rushed to grab water to extinguish it, but unfortunately, the flames spread rapidly before they could contain it.
As it started
Chief Fire Officer, Ishtiaq Ahmed, stated that seven fire brigade vehicles, a snorkel, and a water bowser were deployed to the scene to extinguish the inferno.
Rescue teams swiftly mobilized to evacuate residents trapped within the flats above the burning shops.
SSP Central Faisal Abdullah provided additional details, revealing that the fire started in a cloth shop and quickly spread to nearby stores, escalating into a major conflagration.
Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab stated that additional fire brigade vehicles had been dispatched to the scene, and the primary focus was on minimizing human casualties in the ongoing fire incident.
