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Oil shop gutted: about Rs 0.5m loss in various fire incidents

KARACHI: A sizeable crude oil depot and a shop selling agriculture products were burnt near Sabzi Mandi (vegetable market) while a quilts (gadda) shop was damaged in New Karachi in separate fire incidents on Sunday, fire bridage sources said.

At least 10 fire tenders struggled to extinguish the blaze when it broke out in two adjacent shops in Sabzi Mandi No. 1 area. One of the shops sold agricultural products and suffered a loss of about Rs 0.2 to Rs 0.5 million, according to its owner Mohammad Rafiq, son of Haji Siddiq.

Rafiq said his shop was gutted when a fire erupted in adjacent crude oil depot.

Proprietor and tenant of oil depot Qurban Shah said his shop had Rs 12,000 worth of supplies which were totally consumed by flames besides Rs 7,000 cash stored in a cupboard. Total loss amounted to Rs 0.2 to Rs 0.3 million, he claimed.

A short circuit caused the fire, Qurban Shah told fire service personnel. The premises is owned by one Abidi, the sources added.

Fire tenders managed to save other shops and prevented the fire from spreading to surrounding locality.

A quilts shop owned by Abdul Ghafoor at plot No. 10/21, Sector 11-D, New Karachi suffered unestimated damage in another incident before the fire was put out. The cause remained unascertained.

Fire also damaged a cupboard and a computer in the first floor room of a house in Block 13, Gulshan-e-Iqbal before it was extanguished in presence of house owner Kazi Akbar. According to the sources, its cause and estimated loss remained unknown. APP