KARACHI: A big fire broke out in a towel manufacturing factory in Korangi industrial area on Tuesday afternoon which continued to rage into the night before firemen managed to put it out after more than five hours’ struggle, officials said.

They said that half a dozen fire tenders took part in the firefighting operation in which firemen faced immense difficulties in reaching the place where the blaze had erupted due to lack of proper access and the building being full of smoke.

A fireman of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) fire brigade said that they had received information about the fire in the factory at around 3.30pm. Initially, a couple of fire tenders were sent to extinguish the blaze but then additional fire tenders had to be called from across the metropolis after realising the gravity of the situation, he said.

“The factory is situated in Sector 31-G of the Korangi Industrial Area. Exact cause of fire cannot be known immediately but history of fires in the area suggests that poor wiring causes short circuit which leads to eruption of blazes. Secondly, the facilities with wooden stuff are always at high risk of fire amid current cold and dry weather conditions and low humidity,” he said.

He said that factory was a huge one where clothes were kept in a haphazard manner, which further hindered firefighting operation.

The blaze caused heavy losses as almost all raw materials of the unit stored in a godown were destroyed. However, timely evacuation of people prevented any loss of life or injuries to any worker, he added.

Published in Dawn, November 25th, 2020