A fire broke out at a vehicles' impoundment lot — commonly known as Nazarat — near Aziz Bhatti Park in Karachi's Gulshan-i-Iqbal neighbourhood on Sunday, torching over 440 motorbikes, cars and other vehicles.

According to Deputy Commissioner (DC) East Raja Tariq Hussain, the fire erupted in the bushes inside the premises of Nazarat around 9:50 am. The fire tenders, police and concerned assistant commissioner and mukhtiarkar reached the site "within 15 minutes", he added.

A statement issued by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah's spokesperson Abdul Rasheed Channa said the fire was extinguished and the cooling process was underway. It added that no casualties were reported though many vehicles and motorbikes were damaged.

“The report of the incident showing damaged vehicles will be submitted after completion of the cooling process,” the statement quoting DC Hussain as saying.

Karachi Metropolitan Corporation's (KMC) Chief Fire Officer Mubeen Ahmed told Dawn that six fire tenders managed to control the blaze within three hours. The fire chief regretted that these vehicles were the trust of the people kept at Nazarat.

He lamented the state of the security arrangements, decrying that there was no guard posted or any fire safety system.

Later in the evening, an official source told Dawn that the report about estimates of damages to the vehicles compiled by the DC's office revealed that a "total of 400 motorbikes, 40 cars, one bus and a couple of rickshaws" were destroyed in the fire.

The police in their initial probe ruled out the possibility of any sabotage.

East-SSP Syed Abdul Rahim Sherazi, quoting firemen and witnesses, said that a spark from a high tension wire triggered the blaze. However, he added that the police were waiting for a final report by the firemen.

CM Shah orders inquiry

Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Secretary Muhammad Sohail Rajput told Dawn that an inquiry was ordered on the instructions of the chief minister to ascertain the causes of the fire and determine responsibility.

A notification issued by Rajput said that Muhammad Hanif Channa, an officer of PAS (BS-20), Secretary Services and General Administration, was appointed to conduct the inquiry.

The notification said the terms of reference of the inquiry would be to enquire the causes of the fire incident and to fix responsibility on individuals/organisations for negligence or for the wilful commission of the offence of putting public property on fire. Additionally, Channa was also directed to propose recommendations to avoid the occurrence of such incidents in the future.

He was ordered to submit his report within seven days.

Residents demand removal of Nazarat

Several residents talking to the media demanded the immediate shifting of the Nazarat from the residential area to an abandoned place on the highways to avoid any mishap in the future.

A resident, Irfan Amin, told the media that he was living there for the last eight years. He said if the fire was not controlled immediately, it may have engulfed the residential buildings.

He urged the authorities to remove vehicles and cut bushes to avoid such incidents in the future. He said the residents had heard the sound of an "explosion" at around 9am and saw fire erupting in vehicles. Amin added that tyres bursting aggravated the fire and the thick smoke emanating from it caused breathing problems for the residents.

Another resident also urged the government to remove this "graveyard" of vehicles. He said there were at least 24 flats where residents were living whose life was under constant threat as fire tended to erupt there regularly after some months because of the presence of gas cylinders and petrol in the vehicles.