Three floors gutted as fire erupts in Clifton building

Three floors were gutted as a 14-storey building located on Boat Basin, Clifton, caught fire on early Sunday morning. No casualties were reported in the incident.

The blaze engulfed two popular eateries located on the building’s ground floor.

According to officials of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, the cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained. However, SHO of the Boat Basin police station claimed the fire was caused by a short circuit. The blaze was brought under control following an hours-long operation that involve at least eight vehicles of the KMC’s fire brigade department. 

The restaurants that were damaged in the blaze include outlets of Nando’s and Pizza Hut, with the latter having borne the brunt of the damage. The windows of the three floors engulfed in the fire shattered due to the intensity of the fire.

Rescue officials stated that the gas cylinders and plastic furniture of the restaurant aided the spread of the fire. As remains an unfortunate norm, there were reports regarding a tardy response from the authorities concerned, particularly the fire department. 

The incident came on the heels of the September 20 fire at a cosmetics factory in Block 6 of PECHS. The blaze had erupted following an explosion in the unit’s chemical storage and one man lost his life in the fire.  

Three labourers dead 

Three of four workers were killed when they fell inside a chemical tank at a factory in the city’s Ibrahim Hyderi area late on Saturday night. 

The fourth worker, identified as Abu Bakr, was pulled out to safety by colleagues. However, he remains in critical condition at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre. 

The bodies of the other three were recovered and they have been identified as Zaheer, Bahadur and Ahadullah.