Fire broke out in a three-storey store situated in Satellite Town of Gujranwala district on Friday, killing five people and injuring 12 others. Reportedly, the newly constructed roof of the plaza caved in on Friday, causing short circuiting that led to a fire. It took the firefighting squad two hours to put the fire out. One of the injured, Mohsin, who works as an accountant in the plaza, said they were working in the store when the roof of the second floor collapsed and fell on the roof of the first floor.
Resultantly, the other roof also collapsed and suddenly a fire broke out. Abu Sufiyan, another worker, said he heard a huge noise and in sheer panic, ran out of the building. “But the roof collapsed and we got stuck,” he said, adding that 22 people worked in a store in the plaza. The rescue squad confirmed five causalities, identified as Imran, Wahab, Ghaffar, Nadir and Aslam, while 12 people sustained severe injuries and were transferred to Civil Hospital Gujranwala. Rana Umer, the owner of the store, told Pakistan Today that huge damage was incurred due to the incident, but main loss remained that of five lives. DCO Ch Amin said inquiries of TMA would be conducted and whosoever was found guilty would be brought to justice.
