BAHAWALNAGAR, June 16: Three shops were reduced to ashes due to short circuit in Dhaban Bazaar here early Sunday morning.

A shoe, a cloth and a general store of Muhammad Ali, Muhammad Iqbal and Abdul Hameed, respectively, caught fire and burnt completely before the arrival of fire brigades.

Residents called out the fire brigade which failed to bring the fire under. Reinforcement of firefighters were sought from Haroonabad and Chishtian tehsils which doused the fire after two hours. Iqbal could not take the brunt of his loss and suffered a heart attack. He was rushed to a local hospital where his condition was described as stable. — Correspondent