LAHORE: A massive fire broke out in furniture market at Lakshmi Chowk in the Qila Gujjar Singh police jurisdiction on Monday.

Firefighters spent good six hours to control the blaze.

The fire broke out around 4pm in one of the retail furniture shops in the market and rapidly spread to other shops.

Rescue 1122 dispatched 10 water tanks and 15 firefighters to the spot. The officials had to arrange more firefighting vehicles from neighbouring districts to contain the fire. Huge clouds of smoke could be witnessed from a distance.

Efforts were on to contain the fire and prevent it from spreading to a huge slum pocket in the vicinity.

No casualties or injuries were reported, the official said.

Rescue District Emergency Officer Dr Ahmad Raza said that the fire erupted in the furniture godown where a huge quantity of foam was stored. He said the fighters worked for more than two hours or so to contain and extinguish, adding they had started the cooling process.

He said the fire erupted due to a short circuit.

ROBBERIES: Robbers struck four times in the city on Monday and made off with cash, jewellery and valuables worth Rs1.3 million.

Two armed men barged into the house of Rizwan in Samanabad, held his family at gunpoint and took away cash, jewellery and valuables worth Rs430,000.

Four armed men entered the house of Khurrum in Harbanspura police precincts and took away Rs240,000 in cash.

Four armed men entered the house of Shahid in Gulshan-i-Iqbal police precincts and made off with cash and jewellery worth Rs700,000.

Robbers also intercepted Huma Qayyum in Ichhra police precincts and looted cash and jewellery worth Rs300,000.

Published in Dawn January 10th, 2017