KARACHI: A fire on the eighth and fourth floors of the Income Tax Office adjacent to the Sindh Secretariat destroyed numerous records Monday morning.

A reporter speaking to DawnNews said that the fire which broke out in the canteen on the eighth floor spread to the fourth floor, but bypassed the fifth, sixth and seventh floors completely.

Soon after the incident, the Chief Commissioner Inland Revenue Hafiz Muhammad Ali claimed that no important documents were lost in the fire. However, according to eyewitness reports, a significant number of documents and records on the affected floors were destroyed by the fire.

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The fire was intense and spread quickly, causing significant material loss.

Officials confirming the loss told APP that the fire was brought under control due to the timely arrival of fire engines. No injuries or casualties were registered as staff attendance was thin.

This is the third fire in Karachi reported this year. Earlier in 2015, fires broke out in Karachi’s furniture market and in the emergency ward of Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.