At least 13 people including a woman were killed and over 10 others injured on Monday in a fire that erupted in a four-storey building in a busy market of eastern city of Lahore.
According to a senior administrative official DCO Lahore, Capt Mohammad Usman, blaze erupted in Khalid Market of Anarkali that engulfed the three floors of the building within no time.
Confirming the casualties he said, "Most of the people died as a result of suffocation and not from the blaze itself." He further said that the fire covered the entire building within four to five minutes. The cause of the fire was not immediately ascertained but the official suspected that a short circuit might have caused it. The blaze had been brought under control and that the building has been cleared of all people, he added.
The injured were shifted to the nearby Mayo hospital where the officials also confirmed that 13 people were killed in the incident including a woman. MS Mayo Hospital, Dr Amjad said that 10 people pulled from the building were being treated for injuries. Chief Minister of Punjab province, Shahbaz Sharif took the notice of the incident and formed an inquiry committee to probe the incident.