Pakistani market fire trashes over 150 shops

KARACHI, Pakistan

A massive fire swept through a makeshift market in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Wednesday, gutting hundreds of shops and forcing the authorities to call in the army to help firefighters put out the blaze.

According to police and local media, the fire broke out at a makeshift stall selling used clothes, engulfing a large section of the sprawling Itwaar Bazaar, which is located in H-9 sector of the capital.

The blaze destroyed over 150 makeshift shops and stalls, the latest in a series of similar incidents in recent years, local broadcaster Express News reported.

So far, no casualties have been reported.

The media outlet aired footage of firefighters sprinkling foam and water in an attempt to put out the massive plumes of fire.

Columns of thick smoke could be seen billowing upwards as panicked shopkeepers looked on.

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah told reporters that the situation is “under control,” and an investigation into the incident has been ordered.

Deputy Commissioner Irfan Nawaz Memon told reporters that the cause of the fire is still unknown. The fire has affected at least 20% of the market, he added.

In October 2019, over 300 stalls were gutted in an early morning blaze that swept across the same market.