In flames: Fire destroys over a dozen shops

KOHISTAN:

Over a dozen shops and three vehicles were gutted when a fire broke out in a mill in the main bazaar of Pattan, district headquarters of Lower Kohistan, said the police.

The fire was caused by a short circuit, added officials of the police and fire brigade.

Eyewitnesses told the police the fire started at a saw mill on Saturday night and engulfed the adjoining 12 shops, reducing them to ashes. The inferno was so severe it also burnt down three vehicles parked outside the shops.

Jahafar Ali, the owner of the saw mill, said wood planks in the store caught fire.

The affected shopkeepers estimated the loss to be in millions.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 1^st, 2014.