10 shops and a storage room inside the three-storey Azam Cloth Market located in Umar Block of the Allama Iqbal Town have been gutted down by flames on Saturday after fire broke out in the shop due to short circuiting of electricity connection.
Fire engulfed the ground floor and the first floor of the market, and the entire stock inside the market was reduced to ashes. Police sources have estimated the losses in the millions.
The owner of the burnt shop Zahid Khan said that he lost Rs 50 lakhs worth of garments in the inferno. Other shopkeepers cried after witnessing their goods burning in the fire.
The fire broke out at 6:25 a.m. and was successfully brought under control by rescue fire fighting teams after a long battle which lasted for three hours. It is worth mentioning here that the quick response by the rescue teams saved 500 shops from being destroyed in the incident.
