Men try to steal from money changer in chaos following fire

The fire broke out at Millenium Mall in Gulshan-e-Iqbal while hundreds of shopper were still inside.

KARACHI: The fire at Millenium Mall broke out at only one shop but the smoke engulfed the entire mall and the robbers who barged in later brought the whole neighbourhood to a standstill.

On Wednesday afternoon, the main road outside the mall near Dalmia in Gulshan-e-Iqbal resembled the set of a movie where chaos ruled all over. Stranded shoppers and shopkeepers were being rushed out of the building, while a group of armed robbers were trying to steal a currency exchange shop as the police were firing in the air to disperse the swelling crowds.

The fire broke out at a Bata shoe outlet at around 1:30pm while hundreds of shoppers were inside the mall. The resulting clouds of smoke spread panic among the women and children, who ran outside to escape the fumes.



While the smoke alerted the entire mall, the employees of the shoe store were unaware for a long time. “I had no idea there was a fire and I was just dealing with the customers as per routine,” admitted the outlet’s keeper, Muhammad Yousuf. “All of a sudden, we heard people shouting. When we went outside, there were smoke coming out of our outlet’s electric wiring.” He believed the smoke came long before the fire broke out.

“There was smoke everywhere and we could not stay there for even a moment,” recalled a shopper, Nisar, whose entire family was also present. “We couldn’t run down all the way to the ground floor so I thought it would be better to run to the rooftop.” Several shopkeepers, who ran up to the roof of the mall, were rescued with the help of two cranes. A few women and children lost consciousness but they were released from the hospital after being administered first-aid.

Since there was no proper ventilation inside the building, thick smoke filled inside shops and some shopkeepers had to break their windows to let some of it out. “It was an unforgettable moment,” admitted a shopkeeper, Ali Raza. “We couldn’t understand if we should save ourselves, our shops or the people who were stuck on the upper floors.”

The mall’s security team managed to keep the situation under control with the help of fire extinguishers until the fire department reached. “The smoke got into my lungs but I continued to work until the last person was evacuated,” said the security chief, Ejaz.

Taking advantage

Trying to take advantage of the chaos, a group of robbers barged into the mall to steal products from the shops that were unattended. They also tried to rob a currency exchange outlet and broke the windows of some shops.

Soon after their arrival, the police also made an appearance and tried to disperse the robbers and the spectators by firing in the air. “It was difficult for us to differentiate between the miscreants and the people who were trying to rescue their families stuck in the fire,” claimed SP Ali Asif, who was leading the police team.

The swelling crowd of spectators also made it difficult for the rescue services to do their job. “A little delay could have turned into a major disaster but thankfully, we were able to prevent the fire from spreading into other shops,” said Ismail Hussain, a fire fighter.

Meanwhile, administrator Saqib Soomro also visited. “This fire could have turned into a major tragedy, similar to the Baldia factory fire,” he feared, appreciating the timely efforts of the fire fighters. Soomro said the fire broke out due to short-circuit but further investigations were underway.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 24^th, 2013.