Fire rips through factory in Karachi's Landhi Export Processing Zone, 3 suffer minor injuries

At least three people suffered minor injuries from smoke inhalation after a blaze ripped through a clothing factory in Karachi’s Landhi Export Processing Zone (EPZ) on Monday, Rescue 1122 said.

The blaze caused part of the factory to collapse and spread to an adjacent factory, confirmed the Rescue 1122 spokesperson Hassaan Ul Haseeb Khan. However, due to timely evacuation, no loss of life was reported.

The fire, which broke out around noon, continued into the night, with more than a dozen fire tenders engaged in extinguishing the blaze.

Edhi ambulances and volunteers also reached the site to aid in the rescue operation, the Edhi Foundation said.

Fires frequently erupt in buildings across Pakistan due to a mix of poor infrastructure, weak enforcement of safety regulations, and widespread negligence. Many structures lack proper fire exits, alarms, and emergency protocols, while faulty wiring and overloaded power systems increase the risk of electrical short circuits.

The Gul Plaza inferno, which erupted on the night of January 17 at the mall, claimed at least 73 lives. The blaze took nearly two days to be fully extinguished and left over 1,100 shops in ruins.

In early February, a massive fire in a plastic factory at Landhi EPZ had engulfed several nearby factories and took major firefighting efforts to be brought under control after 13 hours.

Days later, a fire erupted in a high-rise building near Karachi’s Baloch Colony, with around 150 people evacuated. On February 17, a fire at a chemical factory in the SITE Industrial Area was brought under control.

The next month, a blaze that broke out in Imtiaz Superstore’s Zamzama branch was brought under control after hours-long efforts by rescue officials.

In June, hundreds of people were evacuated as a fire erupted in the cold storage of a department store situated in a mega shopping mall on Rashid Minhas Road in Federal B Area.