KARACHI: Three people were injured as a third-degree fire broke out at a factory in Karachi’s Export Processing Zone (EPZ) on Monday, a rescue official said, with three persons injured but out of danger as firefighters continue to battle the flames.

Fire engulfed the ground floor of a used-clothes factory in the EPZ which is located in the city’s Landhi area. Hassaan Ul Haseeb, a spokesperson of the Rescue 1122 Sindh emergency service, told Arab News that the fire spread upward and engulfed the entire factory.

“The fire is at a fully developed stage and has completely engulfed the entire factory,” Haseeb said. “It would be premature to state exactly when the fire will be brought under control.”

He said workers at the affected factory were evacuated as the flames broke out, adding that Rescue 1122 personnel were able to rescue seven people. He said three of them fell unconscious after inhaling smoke and were admitted to a hospital.

“They are now well out of danger,” Haseeb said.

The Rescue 1122 official warned that due to the intense heat, the structure could collapse “at any time.”

Haseeb said 16 fire brigade vehicles, two snorkels, water bowsers and a disaster response vehicle were involved in the firefighting operation.

The Rescue 1122 official said adjoining factories have also been evacuated, while one neighboring unit remained at risk from the flames. He said firefighters were trying to prevent the blaze from spreading.

Haseeb said the cause of the fire cannot be ascertained yet, adding that an investigation will be conducted once the flames are completely doused.

The ground-plus-two-story building had been declared as “structurally hazardous” by Rescue 1122, Haseeb said, forcing firefighters to adopt a defensive approach and tackle the blaze from the outside.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has directed authorities to use all available resources to contain the fire and sought a report from the Karachi commissioner and local administration.

Monday’s blaze was just one among a series of fires that have broken out at the Landhi Export Processing Zone this year. In February, a fire at the Modern Factory, a plastic processing unit, spread to a neighboring building and took around 13 hours to control.

In May, another fire at a used garments factory in the EPZ’s Sukhan area took around six hours to contain. No casualties were reported in either incident.

Fires are common in Karachi’s industrial areas, with officials often citing faulty wiring, poor safety compliance and inadequate enforcement of building regulations as reasons.

A deadly fire at the city’s famous Gul Plaza Shopping Mall in January killed at least 67 people, intensifying scrutiny of fire safety and emergency preparedness in Karachi’s commercial and industrial buildings.