A fire erupted inside a plaza located at the city's Gulberg main boulevard area on Sunday morning due to an electrical short circuit, spreading to the fourth floor of the building where people are stranded.
According to details from rescue officials, the fire broke out in a shop on the second floor of the plaza, Hafeez Centre, where laptops, mobile phones and other electronic items are sold, and spread to the fourth floor. The fire brigade was called soon after the fire broke out around 6:00 am in the morning.
Smoke rises from the Hafeez Centre building in Lahore's Gulberg Main Boulevard where the fire has spread to the 4th floor of the building.
So far, no loss of life has been reported but it is being said that electronic items worth millions have been destroyed by the flames.
According to a rescue official, the fire has engulfed 30-40 shops in total and has spread to the shopping centre's backside as well. "The intensity of the fire has increased due to [the burning of] laptops and mobile phones," he said.
Smoke and flames rise from the Hafeez Centre shopping plaza in Lahore that caught fire today.
The Gulberg Main Boulevard Road has been closed for traffic due to relief activities being carried out in the area.
Despite the blazing inferno, some shopkeepers attempted to pull out their merchandise from the shops. Others wept as they saw the electronic items being reduced to ash in front of their own eyes.
Twelve fire brigades and 60 rescue officials are carrying our relief activities in the area. Reports from the ground state that eight fire brigades have run out of water.
Authorities have called for more fire brigades at the spot due to the intensity of the fire.
People on the fourth floor of the plaza are trapped and efforts are underway to evacuate them, officials added.
