LAHORE: After nearly nine hours, a fire that broke out in a plaza in New Anarkali was controlled on Monday afternoon.
The inferno engulfed 26 shops in the basement and two on the ground floor. Shopkeepers also helped the rescue teams and firefighters in putting out the fire.
Rescue sources had announced at around 8am that the inferno was under control. However, the blaze continued to spread from the basement to the third floor of the plaza.
According to rescue sources, the fire broke out due to a short circuit in the early hours of Monday. The blaze soon engulfed garment shops in the plaza.
Eight fire brigades were summoned to the site and were busy extinguishing the fire.
Heavy clouds of smoke could be seen rising from the plaza.
Traders and shopkeepers at the plaza were irked when the firefighters did not put out the inferno even after a few hours.
They told the media the fire brigade staff did not have complete equipment, including oxygen cylinder, to control the inferno. However, the rescue teams maintained they were trying to put out the fire without caring for their lives.
A few days ago, a fire broke out in a shoe factory in Timber Market on Ravi Road. Eight fire trucks were used to douse the fire for two and a half hours, before it was contained, rescue sources had said.
Earlier on April 1, more than 90 shops were destroyed when a fire broke out in a multi-storey plaza at Anarkali Bazaar. According to rescue sources, a short circuit was likely the cause of the fire in the bazaar where decoration paraphernalia such as firecrackers and aerosol sprays were sold.
Luckily no loss of life was reported.
Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has sought a report on the Anarkali inferno.
