LAHORE: Three persons died while goods worth over millions of rupees were gutted in two separate fire incidents -- one in a factory at Ferozewala and the other in a furniture showroom at Ghoray Shah -- here on Monday.

The police and the Rescue 1122 say three other people suffered burns in the two fire incidents and were rushed to hospitals, where the condition of one of them was said to be critical.

Sharing details, a police official said a massive fire broke out in a leather factory in Rachna Town, Ferozewala, in Sheikhupura district. He said as there was a huge stock of chemicals used to preserve leather in the factory, the fire spread fast and engulfed a major portion of the unit within no time.

He said at least five employees got trapped inside the building because of huge flames and dense smoke.

The Rescue 1122 teams reached there with fire engines and ambulances and launched an operation, rescuing two of the trapped employees, while as many others were recovered dead from the building.

Another employee found with multiple burns was shifted to hospital.

The employees who died in the incident were identified as Ramzan (40) and Jamal (35).

A Rescue 1122 spokesperson said the cause of the fire could not be ascertained so far and the premises was handed over to the police for further investigation, after the blaze was controlled after hours-long hectic efforts.

In the other fire incident, the police official said, a fire burnt down a huge stock of furniture in a showroom at Ghoray Shah Chowk.

He said three employees of the furniture showroom fainted due to the dense smoke. They were shifted to hospital.

The official said one of them later died at the hospital due to burns and suffocation.

Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2022