Fire engulfs Quetta shopping mall

The Baloch Hal News

QUETTA: A huge fire destroyed hundreds of shops in the busy commercial centre of Quetta here on Friday causing loss of Rs tens of millions.

The huge fire continued for several hours which was reportedly caused by a short circuit that proved devastating for the shop owners and traders. A heavy thick smoke spread over the sky as the fire continued for several hours.

City Center, as the huge commercial complex was popularly known among the women folks, offered imported goods of the Afghan Transit Trade slipped back to the local economy.

Fire erupted at the City Center, a shopping complex, of Quetta on Friday evening destroying around two hundred shops spreading a thick cloud of smoke over the sky.

Mostly the shops and business centers in the area remain closed on Friday, as a weekly holiday. There were seldom people around the vicinity spotting the fire at the beginning. There was not a single person present inside the building when fire erupted and no one could spot the fire till it engulfed the entire complex, presumably biggest in this Provincial Capital in recent years.

The modest Fire Brigade vehicles rushed to the spot soon after being informed about incident and started making efforts to extinguish the fire protecting the remaining shops situated inside the center.

The shop owners, in large number, reached the spot and started struggle to overcome the huge fire which caught spread to remaining part of the building. The shops included of cloths, shoes, cosmetics, garments and items of daily uses.

Traders estimated that around 200 shops have been destroyed worth over Rs tens of millions. They said that mostly imported goods in the shops.

QESCO suspended the power supply to the area soon after the incident as a safety measure protecting other shops and trading centers. The City Center is located close to Liaquat Bazaar, a main commercial area of the city. It is a congested area where a large number of shops and other commercial establishments and vending shops are located.

Late at the night fire fighters managed to bring the fire under control.

Police has started further investigation into the matter.