A third-degree fire that broke out late Friday at a factory in Karachi’s Landhi Export Processing Zone was brought under control after about 11 hours of firefighting efforts, officials said. The blaze, which began at a plastic goods manufacturing unit and spread to an adjoining factory producing shoes and slippers, drew a large emergency response involving roughly 20 fire-fighting vehicles, including fire tenders and snorkels from the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), Pakistan Navy, Rescue 1122 and the EPZ fire brigade.
Chief Fire Officer Humayun Khan said that while no casualties were reported, a significant quantity of stored plastic, fibre, shoes, slippers and leather was destroyed and one factory building suffered extensive damage. The cooling process, expected to continue for several days, will be followed by an investigation into the cause of the fire.
Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab highlighted the challenges faced by firefighters on social media, and authorities have declared the factory structurally unsafe pending assessment by the Sindh Building Control Authority.