ISLAMABAD   -   Over a 300 stalls have been engulfed in a massive fire erupted at Islamabad’s Sunday Bazaar on Wednesday.

The incident occurred at the capital’s I-9 open-air market, where vendors set up stalls each week to sell a wide variety of goods.

After the fire erupted, several fire trucks reached at the market to control the fire. The process of putting out the fire remained underway for hours while due to a shortage of fire brigades in Islamabad, help was also sought from Rawalpindi rescue teams and the firefighting team of the Pakistan Navy.

As per CDA sources no casualties have been reported, however, goods worth millions of rupees stored in the stalls were reduced to ashes, prompting vendors to voice their grievances to the market’s administration.

Meanwhile, the Islamabad Police said that the entire area surrounding the market has been cordoned off and evidence is being collected from the scene to ascertain the cause of the fire.

“A full investigation into the fire will also be carried out [while] all arrangements have been made to maintain flow of traffic around the area,” the capital police wrote on its social media handles.

“Citizens are requested not to form unnecessary gatherings and cooperate with the police,” it added.

It is pertinent to mention here that it was not the first fire erupted in this market but now it has become a permanent feature as there were about a dozen such incidents in last few years but city managers have been failed to control them.