KARACHI, Feb 10: At least 12 shops were gutted and eight partially damaged when a fire broke out in Motandas Market in the small hours of Sunday.

The fire erupted at one of the 40 shops situated on the ground floor of the market reportedly due to an electric short circuit. To extinguish the fire a fire-fighting vehicle arrived at the spot but owing to the gravity of the situation more vehicles were called in immediately. The fire was put out after a three-hour operation carried out by 12 fire-tenders.

According to a fire brigade official, the fire-fighting operation was delayed by 45 minutes by the late arrival of Karachi Electric Supply Corporation staff. He said that during such operations it was necessary to severe power connections without which the situation could get worse. However, the fire-fighting operation was undertaken without KESC personnel, he said.

A fire-fighter, Anis, was injured during the operation when a piece of debris fell on his head. He was taken to the Civil Hospital, where he was discharged after treatment.

The multiple incidents of fire during the last few days have forced the Sindh governor to constitute a fact-finding committee to ascertain the causes and to recommend steps to avert recurrence of such incidents.

On Feb 7, three huge fires broke out in a textile mill in Korangi, in a chemical factory in Landhi and in a towel factory in Site. Earlier, a fire had erupted in the Berger paint factory in Site, causing massive destruction.

Burnt alive

A baby was burnt alive when a fire broke out in a house in North Nazimabad in the limits of the Shahrah-i-Noorjehan police station on Sunday evening.

Police said fire broke out in a portion of a house in Block I, North Nazimabad. The baby’s mother, Ms Bina, said she had lit a candle when the power went off and went to offer prayers. The candle might have triggered the fire, she said, adding that when she saw the house going up in flames, she ran outside to safety with her two children. However, she added, she could not enter the burning house to rescue her two-year-old daughter.

Later, fire-tenders arrived and put out the fire. The baby was rushed to a nearby private hospital with serious burns but could not survive. Police, however, believed that the fire was caused by an iron which Ms Bina had forgotten to switch off after ironing clothes.