A fire broke out at a building located near Ayesha Manzil in Karachi’s Federal B Area on Wednesday, according to the police and rescue services.
Footage aired on television showed black smoke billowing into the sky as flames engulfed the structure. Firefighters could also be seen attempting to douse the bright orange flames.
Dawn News reported that the fire had damaged vehicles parked near the building while there was also a traffic jam in the area.
The incident comes just days after 11 people were killed when a huge fire ripped through a six-storey commercial building in the city’s Gulistan-i-Jauhar area.
Dr Abid Shaikh, Sindh Rescue 1122 director, confirmed to Geo News that the building had been completely evacuated, adding that a rescue operation was under way.
“This is a third category fire, the whole building was in the grip of the flames,” he said, adding that the building had a ground floor, a mezzanine floor and four more residential floors.
Jauharabad police officer Yasir told Dawn.com that as per initial reports, the fire had erupted in a shop on the ground floor before spreading rapidly.
He said the structure was a four or five storey building, adding that the upper floors were residential. Yasir said several people had been rescued. He added that there were reports that a few people were present in the burning building, adding that rescue operations were under way to rescue them.
Jauharabad Station House Officer Sudeer Bhayo said eight fire tenders were working on extinguishing the blaze, adding that the flames had been controlled “to some extent”.
Fire brigade department official Humayun Khan told Geo News that the fire had spread from the ground floor “all the way till the fourth floor”.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab said the fire brigade was present at the scene to deal with the situation.
“Snorkel is also present on site to evacuate people from the roof if required. Will keep everyone posted,” he said.
Speaking to Geo News earlier, Wahab said firefighters were working to bring the inferno under control with more machinery, including bowsers, called to the site.
“After the unfortunate Rashid Minhas incident, I made a note of doing fire safety audits at various locations, including at II Chundrigar and Sharea Faisal,” Wahab said.
“Right now the priority is to control the fire immediately, and after that we need to work on future reforms,” he added.
‘It happened in seconds’
Speaking to Geo News, Waheed, a shopkeeper who was present when the fire erupted, said people had started running when they saw the smoke.
“It happened in seconds,” he said. He said that the fire had erupted at the mattress shops located at the front of the building.
A female resident of the building, identified as Almas Talha, told Geo News that the guards had escorted her family to safety. She said that there was a lot of smoke and the residents had been barred from going near the building.
She said she was offering prayers when she went to her balcony and witnessed the commotion. She also heard calls for evacuating the burning building.
She said the building was safely evacuated in a timely manner because of the guards. “All residents have come out” of the building, she said.
Sindh CM takes notice
Caretaker Sindh Chief Minister Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqar ordered immediate measures to control the fire. He also directed the city commissioner and deputy commissioner to reach the site and monitor the operations.
“The fire should be controlled as soon as possible so that there is no major damage,” he was quoted as saying in a statement from his spokesperson. He added that the evacuees should be taken to a safe position.
He also ordered that more vehicles of the Fire Brigade Department reach the spot to douse out the flames.
Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori also took notice of the inferno and ordered the safe evacuation of those trapped in the building should be ensured. He directed the Karachi commissioner to use all possible resources to bring the fire under control.
This is a developing story that is being updated as the situation evolves. Initial reports in the media can sometimes be inaccurate. We will strive to ensure timeliness and accuracy by relying on credible sources such as concerned, qualified authorities and our staff reporters.
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