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KARACHI: Firefighters have failed to extinguish fire which broke out in a factory manufacturing cooking oil near Paracha Chowk in Karachi’s Shershah locality late on Friday.

Fire tenders from all fire brigade stations of the city were summoned to fight the fire. The firefighters entered the factory after breaking the factory wall to extinguish the fire.

No casualties were reported, however, authorities have so far failed to control the fire and reported it as being a third-degree blaze.

According to a spokesman of the factory, the fire erupted in the filling department of the factory which is situated in the basement of the building. He informed that the number of workers at the factory was very low due to public holiday on Friday.

He said that all the workers were safely rescued by the rescue teams.

Rangers have surrounded the factory and no one is allowed to enter the building.

According to Administrator, Muhammad Hussain Syed, all resources are being utilized to overcome the blaze. He also informed that all the surrounding factories have been evacuated as a precaution. He said a definite timeframe to extinguish the blaze could not be given.

Governor Sindh Dr Ishratul Ebad has ordered Commissioner Karachi Roshan Ali Sheikh and the Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC) Administrator Mohammad Hussain Saeed to control the fire using all available resources.

Due to the excessive smoke spread over a large area of the factory, relief operations were adversely affected. Two firefighters were taken ill due to the excessive smoke and were transferred to a hospital for treatment.

The incident is reminiscent of the recent Baldia Town tragedy and brings to light the ongoing issue of occupational hazards in factories.

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