Karachi Cooperative Market fire caused loss worth Rs5-10 billion: traders

• Number of shops gutted in Saddar Cooperative Market fire reach 250-300.
• Traders cite short-circuit as possible cause of blaze.
• Some part of market still on fire as rescue operation continues.

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The number of shops gutted in the Saddar Cooperative Market fire so far has reached 250-300, according to traders.

The traders, whose businesses were reduced to ashes in the Cooperative Market fire a day ago, have cited a short-circuit as a possible reason behind this incident.

Per details, 90% of the market and warehouse were destroyed and a loss worth Rs5-10 billion has been incurred.

The owners of the shops are trying to remove leftover stock from the market, while some part of the market is still blazing under fire as rescue operations continue.

Traders lamented that despite such a hefty loss, no official visited the place.

What had happened?

A fire broke out Sunday evening at Cooperative Market near Regal Chowk in Karachi's Saddar.

Pakistan Navy fire tenders also participated in the firefighting operation.

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

Karachi Commissioner Muhammad Iqbal Memon and personnel of various law enforcement agencies had visited the site to monitor the firefighting operation.

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

He had said that there are around 300-400 shops in the market, of which “35 had 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.

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

They had 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 had said that four fire tenders along with firefighting teams from different fire stations of the city were sent to the spot immediately.

They had 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.