RAWALPINDI: Rescue personnel were engaged in efforts to douse a large fire that engulfed a factory in Rawat Industrial Estate on Monday, according to officials.

Dense plumes of smoke could be seen above the industrial area from miles away after the fire broke out.

According to Rescue 1122, the fire at the textile factory broke out at around 4:30pm, and efforts to extinguish the flames were still underway hours after the incident was reported.

It indicated that the factory may collapse because of the blaze, adding that combustible material was present inside the structure.

A Rescue 1122 spokesperson earlier told Dawn that assistance had also been sought from the fire and rescue services of Bahria, Islamabad and the Water and Sanitation Agency, Rawalpindi. He said that the blaze had initially been described as a second-degree fire.

At around 8pm, a rescue official had told Dawn that there were no reports of any person getting injured or trapped inside the building until then.

An eyewitness, Yasir told Dawn that the fire was so intense that the firefighters were struggling to control it. “I could hear the sound of loud explosions from inside the factory,” he added.

The cause of the fire could not be immediately ascertained.

Earlier this month, it had emerged that all high-rise buildings in the garrison city had been served notices to adopt fire safety measures within 30 days.

On January 31, two persons were safely evacuated after a fire erupted in a residential building in Phase-7 of Bahria Town in Rawalpindi.