Fire guts over 300 shops in Islamabad

Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: A fire broke out Wednesday on stalls at a Sunday Bazaar in the federal capital’s Peshawar Mor in H-9 Sector.
The extent of the fire was so massive that it rapidly engulfed shops leaving over 300 burnt. No causalities have been reported following the incident.
Rescue sources said that the blaze is reported to have caught the bazaar’s gate number seven at Srinagar Avenue section engulfing and damaging several shops, which sell carpets and second-hand clothing for the winter season – many of which have been reportedly burnt to ashes.
The Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) and the city’s fire brigade department are engaged in extinguishing the fire, while the capital police and district administration were also present at the site of the incident, including the federal capital’s deputy commissioner.
At least 10 fire engines are busy dousing the fire. Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah has taken notice of the incident. He has directed the city’s deputy commissioner to personally monitor the situation and ensure all resources in putting out the fire.
The minister has sought the incident’s report from the district administration of Islamabad.
According to media, this was not the first time that this bazaar caught fire. A similar incident has taken place four times in the past leaving shops destroyed and shopkeepers bearing losses of millions of rupees as the business is heavily invested.
All routes going toward the bazaar have been sealed by the police.
Speaking to media, the deputy commissioner said: “The cause of the fire has not yet been ascertained, no casualty has been reported. The Islamabad and Rawalpindi’s rescue teams are busy in getting the fire under control.”
A spokesperson of the Pakistan Navy said that civil administration is also helping in dousing the blaze, while the navy’s team and two of its fire brigades are also engaged in putting it out.