KARACHI, Nov 1: Panic gripped hundreds of office-goers on crowded I. I. Chundrigar Road on Thursday when thick clouds of smoke from a burining KESC transformer enveloped a major portion of the busiest commercial avenue, witnesses and fire-brigade officials said.

They said that traffic remained suspended for over two hours on the major artery as over a dozen fire tenders and an equal number of ambulances buzzed around the multi-storey Adamji House where a fire broke out at around 11.30am. No one was injured in the incident.

While an army helicopter hovered over the building, the dark smoke billowing from the power sub-station on the ground floor quickly filled the Adamjee House and caused hasty exit of over 200 people. Rescue workers managed to reach the rooftop through a snorkel, though all the inmates in the building were evacuated safely through stairs.

Chief Fire Officer Mohammed Ehtesham Uddin told Dawn that fire tenders rushed to the spot immediately and fully contained the fire in an hour-long operation.

“The fire had erupted due to a short circuit which was most probably caused by over-heating of the transformer,” he added.

“As many as nine fire tenders of the city government, its three snorkels, and one fire tender each from the Karachi Port Trust, DHA and Navy reached the spot”, he added.

While talking to Dawn at the site of the fire, City Naib Nazim Nasrin Jalil said that worn-out electric wires were one of the major causes of the fire outbreak. “It is imperative that the worn-out cables are replaced to avoid fire incidents,” she said and added a resolution to this effect would be presented in the session of the city council shortly.