KARACHI, June 23: A fire that broke out in a shoe shop within minutes engulfed the entire ground and mezzanine floors of a multi-storeyed commercial building in Clifton here on Saturday afternoon, leaving more than 250 shops gutted.

The fire then spread to a CNG and petrol station located adjacent to the burning Continental Trade Centre (CTC) near the Schön Circle, where an explosion took place.

However, no one was reported injured in the explosion. Clifton Town Tolice Officer Azad Khan confirmed the blast in a tank of the petrol station, adding that there was no loss of life.

All the occupants of the CTC building were evacuated safely except for 17 persons, who suffered minor burns or bruises. The Pakistan Navy and the snorkel of the city fire brigade rescued the occupants of the building who managed to get to the rooftop. Some people fainted due to the scorching heat as temperatures in the city touched 44 degrees centigrade.

More than 24 fire tenders of the city government, navy and cantonment board, besides a snorkel, participated in the rescue operation.

Helicopters of the armed forces and the Edhi Foundation were also used to rescue the trapped people while Edhi, Chhipa and KKF ambulances were present to shift the injured to hospitals.

Deputy Director of the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre Dr Seemi Jamali said: “We have received 17 injured people, many of them with bruises and some with burns. One patient received 20 per cent burns and the condition of the rest is stable.”

The building houses almost 200 shops on the ground floor and an equal number on the mezzanine floor, but only 50 to 60 shops have been opened on the mezzanine floor.

Most of the stores on the ground floor are cloth shops with a few jewellery and shoe shops, while the majority of shops on the mezzanine level sell mobile phones and related accessories.

The fire, which erupted at around 1.10pm, could not be overcome even after six hours, despite continued efforts by fire-fighters to extinguish the blaze. A fire brigade official said: “We received the first call at around 1.20pm and immediately sent fire tenders from the Saddar Fire Station. The fire was so big that 20 of our fire tenders were sent to put it out.”

However, shopkeepers contested the claim of the fire department complaining that they had informed the fire brigade as soon as the blaze broke out, claiming that by the time the fire tenders came, the ground floor had already been engulfed by fire.

“The fire broke out at around 1.10pm and I made the first call at 1.19pm. I continued to make nine more calls by 1.47pm, but no fire tender arrived at the scene,” Mohammad Siddique, a perturbed shopkeeper told Dawn, who showed his cellular phone to prove his claim.

He said that he made calls to emergency number 116 and was told that the nearest fire station was Gizri, but the affected building did not come under its jurisdiction. The shopkeepers argued that when the fire broke out the authorities concerned were wrangling over the jurisdiction instead of rushing to rescue people and extinguish the fire.

The officials of the fire brigade did not know whether the offices on the upper floors were safe or gutted as they could not get access inside the building.

Thick smoke was still emanating from the building despite the lapse of six hours and even the heavy rainfall in the evening could not help the fire brigade in their efforts.