Kabul market blaze leaves woman dead, man wounded

KABUL (Pajhwok): A woman was killed and a man wounded as a market caught fire on Sunday in the Baharistan area in the second police district of Kabul.

Maulvi Qayumullah Badri, crime branch chief for the second police district, told Pajhwok Afghan News the predawn fire erupted at about 3:00am at the five-storey Al Khair market.

In three floors of the market, the Jahan Kodak garment centre is operating. In the remaining two portions, the centre has warehouses.

Badri said the wife of the market’s guard died in the blaze and a man sleeping inside a shop was wounded. The fire was triggered by a short circuit.

Maulvi Mohammad Salim Haqqani, head of the crime department at the Kabul police headquarters said, the fire erupted on the  first floor of the marker before spreading to other parts of the building. All five floors were gutted.

He said firefighters rushed to the scene and prevent the flames from engulfing nearby buildings. The extent of financial losses was yet to be ascertained, Haqqani concluded.

aw/mud