Gujranwala factory fire extinguished after 8 hours of battle

GUJRANWALA: Fire broke out at a double-storey plastic goods manufacturing factory here on Thursday morning, ARY News reported.

According to rescue teams on the spot, all nearby residential buildings were evacuated timely in aftermath of the raging fire.

It took authorities around eight hours to extinguish the blaze after which the cooling process has been initiated. Nine fire tenders took part in the rescue operations. No loss of life has been reported so far.

However, massive cracks have developed in the walls of the factory and the factory building may susceptible to collapse, sources said.

Explosions have also been heard inside the plastic manufacturing factory during the firefighting.

According to our correspondent Ghulam Fareed, the raging fire was uncontrollable after several hours of firefighting. However, the cause of fire could not be established.

Earlier today, the rescue operation was briefly halted for safety of the firefighters and other rescue workers as the blaze grew uncontrollably.

In a similar fire incident in the federal capital a day before, over 600 stalls gutted in inferno at weekly Sunday Sasta Bazaar.

Officials said that the fire might have spread after locals lit up garbage – generally done to discard it – which engulfed nearby stalls as wind causing the fire to spread.

The site hosts a weekly budget market, situated at Sector H-9 near Peshawar Morr in the federal capital. A large number of residents visit the Bazaar.