KARACHI: A man was killed in a fire which erupted in an “illegal” petrol pump established on the ground floor of a three-storey residential building in Shah Faisal Colony-3 on Wednesday night, said officials.

Around 15 residents, including women and children, who had climbed on the roof of the building for safety were rescued while the building was badly damaged.

Rescue-1122 official Hassaan Khan told Dawn the fire erupted and quickly spread in the petrol pump which was selling fuel to motorcycles. It engulfed the whole building within no time. Since it was an oil-based fire, which is difficult to put out with water, the rescue team used foam.

He said the person who died was identified as 55-year-old Sirajuddin. His body was recovered from the stairs of the building.

“The fire has been controlled and cooling work is underway,” said the official. “Final search operation will be launched after cooling work.”

At night, the rescue official told Dawn that they had obtained the closed-circuit television camera footage from the spot, which showed that a passing-by motorcyclist threw something at the petrol pump after which the fire started.

He said it was ‘blurred’ footage and it could be a cigarette which triggered the blaze. However, the investigations are underway.

Korangi-SSP Tauheed Rehman Memon, who visited the spot, claimed that police had taken action against the shop around two months ago for selling petrol illegally. However, the seller had got an order from court.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah took notice of the incident and directed commissioner of Karachi and DC Korangi for supervision of rescue work.

He said that it was being reported that the fire broke out because of an “illegal” petrol pump. He directed authorities to take legal action against the sellers of petrol at the illegal pump.

He also asked the administration to launch a crackdown on illegal sale of petrol at open places in the metropolis.

Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2024