From Abid Usman
LAHORE: A huge fire erupted at Hafeez Center shopping plaza in Lahore’s Gulberg area on Sunday morning which gutted several shops and valuables worth millions.
The fire fighting teams have so far become unsuccessful to douse the blaze and busy in evacuating people in the building, whereas, some people remained trapped at the roof terrace.
Rescue officials summoned more vehicles of the fire brigade and other equipment from other districts.
On the other hand, traders started taking out valuable items including computers, laptops and mobile phones from their shops on their own.
Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar took notice of the incident and ordered authorities to utilise all resources for dousing the fire at earliest. He asked local administration and Rescue 1122 to take every necessary step for saving the lives and assets of the citizens. The chief minister said first priority is to safely evacuate people trapped inside the shopping plaza and those stranded on the roof of the building. He also directed authorities to submit report over the incident.
Moreover, A number of officials reached the site, including Lahore Commissioner Zulfiqar Ghuman, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Mudassir Riaz and Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Umar Sheikh. Eyewitnesses said the fire started on the second floor of the building but gradually travelled to the fourth floor. CCPO Sheikh said 25 people had been rescued from the building so far and there were no reports of casualties so far.
While talking to the media, the DC said the fire has been brought under control to a “significant extent”, adding that focus was now on parts of the building still on fire. “Workers from Rescue 1122 and fire department are present at the site and are working on putting out the fire.
Meanwhile, Lahore Commissioner Zulfiqar Ghuman has constituted a 14-member inquiry committee to look into the incident and directed it to submit a preliminary report within 24 hours.
The committee comprises officials from Metropolitan Corporation of Lahore (MCL) and Rescue 1122.
