Karachi Cooperative Market inferno: 35 shops 'completely gutted'

• Karachi commissioner says of 300-400 shops, "35 completely gutted".
  
• People evacuated from the area; roads leading to market blocked.
• Cause of fire yet to be ascertained.
  

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KARACHI: 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.

The operation to douse the blaze is currently underway with one fire tender and a team present on the spot. More assistance from all fire stations across the city has been sought.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Navy fire tenders also participated in the firefighting operation.

A spokesperson of Pakistan Navy said that the assistance was provided at the request of the civil administration.

Karachi Commissioner Muhammad Iqbal Memon and personnel of various law enforecement agencies arrived on site to monitor the firefighting operation.

The Karachi commissioner told Geo News that the inferno has been declared a "third degree fire".

He said that there are around 300-400 shops in the market, of which “35 have been completely gutted”.

When asked about the cause of the fire, he said it would be premature to comment on the matter at this point.

However, he assured the media of a probe to identify the cause.

The affected shopkeepers claimed that the fire tenders arrived an hour after the fire broke out and said that major losses could have been averted.

They said that the fire erupted on the ground floor and spread to the first floor shortly as there was a huge stock of cloth inside the shops there.

Earlier, the fire department officials 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.

According to initial reports, people were quickly evacuated from the area and the roads leading to and from Cooperative Market were blocked.