Pakistan: Over 40 shops destroyed in massive blaze at Abbottabad

Abbottabad [Pakistan], October 26 (ANI): A massive fire at the Lunda Bazaar area near the Karakoram Highway in Pakistan's Abbottabad reduced over 40 shops and multiple houses to ashes, causing damage worth millions of Pakistani rupees, the Express Tribune reported.
According to eyewitnesses, the fire that broke out on Saturday is believed to have started due to a short circuit in one of the shops and quickly spread across the market, which was stocked with winter merchandise such as used clothes, sweaters, shoes, and bags.
The flames were so intense that smoke and fire were visible from miles away. Residents living behind the market narrowly escaped as the fire spread to adjoining houses.
The shops were closed during the incident, which took place early in the morning. According to the Express Tribune, multiple calls were made to the rescue officials, the fire department and the district administration, but the emergency teams arrived late, when the market was already reduced to ashes.
Rescue 1122 officials said four fire vehicles and two ambulances were dispatched immediately upon receiving the call, while additional fire brigades from Havelian, Cantonment Board, and TMA were also summoned due to the intensity of the blaze.
The firefighting operation continued for several hours before the flames were brought under control, Express Tribune reported.
No casualties were reported in the incident; however, the traders and residents suffered losses worth millions of rupees.
District Emergency Officer Jan Muhammad Afridi had also directed that all available resources be used to extinguish the fire and prevent further damage.
Affected shopkeepers held Rescue 1122 and local authorities responsible for the delayed response, staging a protest and demanding an inquiry into the incident, according to the Express Tribune.
The exact cause of the fire is yet to be determined. (ANI)