LDA Plaza: Fire continues, charred bodies hang out of windows

25 bodies are feared to be inside - rescue workers wait for building to “cool down”.

LAHORE: More than 24 hours have passed since the fire erupted at the LDA Plaza in Lahore yet flames continued to be seen on the ninth floor of the building, while charred bodies were visible on top of an AC unit outside the building, reported Express News on Saturday.

Families of the missing victims waited patiently outside the building as fire fighters and rescue workers waited on the building to “cool down” and continued to extinguish the fire.

After continued delays, some exasperated families tried to get into the plaza themselves to bring out the remaining dead. Mourning families were visibly frustrated as people are still reported to be missing and have received little or no information from relevant authorities.

Nearly 25 bodies are expected to be inside the building but rescuers claim the possibility of finding victims alive is very low. At least 22 people have been confirmed dead so far.

Authorities and officials remain missing at large, adding to the frustration of those families waiting in the heat.

Initial reports suggest that the fire may have started due to a short circuit. Twenty six people were rescued from the fire in total.

Records destroyed

The fire has been deemed “mysterious” as it was reported to fire services 40 minutes after it first erupted. The fire had already burnt a lot of the offices on the floors on which it erupted by the time it was reported.

The floors that have been destroyed consisted mainly of offices related to finance and audit operations. Original records of projects such as Tajpur, Bahria Town and other large projects were kept in the offices.

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