KARACHI: A massive fire broke out in a garment factory in Baldia Town on Tuesday which took more than three hours to put out as firemen struggled to reach the point of its origin, officials said.

At 1.30pm, a fire official said, two fire tenders were rushed to the factory situated in Baldia Town No 2 but the central fire station received information that the fire had reached third-degree level within a few minutes.

“So the number of fire tenders and firefighters was enhanced and ultimately the job was done with eight tenders and a water tanker,” said the official. “It was actually a godown of the industrial unit which produces readymade garments. A production unit is attached to the godown but it remained safe. The exact cause of the fire is not known yet. Such facilities where the use of wood is high always remain at risk of fires amid gusty winds and low humidity.”

He said the fire officials with the assistance of area police and people in the neighbourhood also rescued labourers of the factory in time and no one was hurt. The assessment of the loss was not done yet, he said but added that the initial assessment suggested that the goods worth millions of rupees were burnt to ashes.

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2020