The fire broke out at 5.32 pm in the evening before quickly spreading through the market that trades in watches and other small items. So intense was the fire, that it trapped a number of people inside.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, Rescue 1122 spokesperson Jam Sajjad Hussain said that the the real cause of the fire could only be ascertained after blaze is extinguished. He added that 16 firefighting vehicles and around 80 firefighters fought the fire while 25 ambulances evacuated the dead and injured to the hospital.
DG Rescue 1122 Dr Rizwan Naseer said that they faced difficulties in overcoming the fire due to the presence of a large crowd and only one entry and exit point to the venue. The fire was extinguished after four hours.
Rescue services and fire brigade officials said they faced problems owing to low visibility and narrow streets at the scene.
SP City Asad Sarfraz Khan said he had to use a loud speaker on multiple occasions to ask the gathered crowd to clear the area outside the affected building so that the rescue workers could work unhindered.
The District Co-ordination Officer Captain (retd) Muhammad Usman said that the fire broke out due to short-circuit.
One of the shopkeepers of the market, Abu Bakar Butt, told The Express Tribune that Waleed, the son of the market union’s president was also among the dead.
MS Mayo Hospital Dr Amjad Shahzad confirmed that 12 bodies had been brought to them, including that of a woman. He added that initial examination of the dead showed that most had died of suffocation, while some had also suffered from burns.
One of the injured Mazhar Afzal, who suffered 15 per cent burn injuries was discharged after treatment.
The dead were identified by their relatives as Syed Sheraz Ali, Sanaullah, Ateequr Rehman, Nauman Khan, Waleed bin Ateeq, Azam Khan, Haji Ijaz.
Meanwhile, CM Punjab Shahbaz Sharif took notice of the fire and asked the city district government to submit the report of the incident within 24 hours.
“All the resources should be utilized in saving the lives of the people who are in the Khalid Plaza and best treatment facilities should be provided to the injured people who are rescued,” said Sharif.
CM Shahbaz Sharif announced compensation for the victims of the fire. Rs0.5 million will be provided to the heirs of those who died, while Rs0.1 million will be provided to the injured.
CM also formed a highly level team which consists of Health Secretary, DCO, CCPO, Commissioner Lahore MNA Pervaiz Malik, Provincial Ministers Bilal Yasin and Mian Mujhtaba Shujaur Rehman and other members for the compensation and they will estimate the amount of loss incurred.
COMMENTS (12)
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A country where the institutions are not functional needs the formation of "committees". Sadly, Sharif brothers would never understand.
First we have to teach the team of building code inspectors. Whole Modern World has discovered if Buildings are up-the-code there is little chance for a major life threatening fire there. Secondly; implementation of such codes. Third; responsibility of the peoples' to listen-to-code inspector, it's for your own good. I will leave-out the funding & infrastructure to the provincial Govt. It's high time; Send teams out to every alley & area to see if the safety measures are in place for next FIRE!
CM Punjab,CM sindh & CM KPK u all step out because we people have not the capacity to control the aftermath if your capable then we are safe from the accident of APS Peshawar,timber market Karachi & Lahore accident
These fires are preventable, The fires due to electrical short circuit is certainly preventable. Ask any electrical technician, you would be told about the sizes of wires, sizes of fuzes, load on the circuits etc.
The chief minister of Punjab instead of forming a committee to investigate the cause and the situation surrounding the rescue and suppression of fire should also include the recommendations from this committee to prevent these in future.
One of the foremost recommendation would be for the use of a licensing procedure for electricians so that only qualified individuals are used in getting a place wired. I do understand that on all major construction projects all specifications are spelled out by appropriate load calculations and design elements.
The licensing and inspection authorities of each city (the approval body of the building plans) must be held accountable for the conditions of these buildings; and the landlord must be held accountable as the owners of the textile factory fire in Karachi.
The owners of these shops/building must be held liable for the loss of property and lives of people.
Unless it is done, we would have quite a few more people killed unnecessarily.
....and the CM has taken notice.
@Azi: Lol...... U stole my comment. The priorities of ppl trapped in this country are totally messed up. Even the karma must be thinking....hummmmm today is another day how should I punish the ppl of Islam ka killa
alas, now to whom against FIR should have to be registered
CM is always very quick to form an inquiry committee immediately after an incident, however we have never heard about the findings of any of them. Perhaps, the sole purpose of these committees is just to divert the attention from their mismanagement and bad governance.
This is 2nd major fire across Pakistan in 24hours. We have no fire fighting capability and no education on the subject to make people aware. We will see Government/SS come and take photo op and say a couple of sentences and move on till the next one.
Not one day without deaths in this country, and they are concerned about the "hellhole" deception.
Dear MQM, Who shares 90% of the blame this time?