• Plaza caught fire at 4 in the morning, 
• Time Centre Plaza has 200 shops. 
• About 70% of fire brought under control.

PESHAWAR: A massive fire erupted in a shopping centre in Peshawar’s Saddar on Monday at 4 in the morning, Geo News reported citing rescue officials. 

About 26 vehicles, including water browsers and 130 firefighters are present at the shopping centre to control the fire. The rescue officials said that it would take some time to extinguish the fire. 

The Time Centre Plaza, which is a two-storey building, has about 200 shops including mobile phones, UPS and other electronics shops. 

According to the rescue team, the fire engulfed the entire building, causing a loss of millions of rupees. Moreover, the houses that were located near the shopping centre were evacuated. 

However, no loss of life has been reported. 

The rescue officials added that teams from different districts — Khyber, Nowshera, Mardan and Charsadda — were called to the site of the incident to help in the process. 

Corps Commander Peshawar Lieutenant General Hasan Azhar Hayat is overseeing the operation. The rescue team said that the fire destroyed hundreds of shops. 

According to the director general of Rescue 1122, about 70% of the fire has been brought under control. “The firefighters are trying to control the fire completely,” he said, adding that the intensity of the blaze has reduced. 

“The fire keeps erupting because of the batteries inside the plaza,” he added.