Fire Breaks Out At Pakistani Tv Studio, Killing 4

Fire breaks out at Pakistani TV studio, killing 4 < br />

2012-08-01 00:15:23 GMT+7 (ICT)

LAHORE, PAKISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- A television studio in eastern Pakistan caught fire Monday during a live broadcast, killing four people and injuring more than a dozen others, local authorities said on Tuesday.

The fire broke out at around 3:40 a.m. local time on Monday at the Koh-i-Noor TV studios in Garhi Shahu, located in the eastern city of Lahore. The blaze was apparently caused by a short circuit in a wall socket or an air-conditioner wire, possibly after the station's generator switched back to regular power supply.

According to TV host Asim Obaid, who was critically injured in the fire, a cameraman went to check the smell of smoke and small sparks seen near the set, the Express Tribune newspaper reported. People remained calm as it appeared to be a small incident, but the sparks caused the insulation foam in the studio to catch fire, allowing the flames to spread quickly.

In just seconds, flames climbed up the walls of the studio as burning foam fell from the ceiling, Obaid told the newspaper. People in the audience then began to panic, running for safety and bumping into each other as they searched for the building's emergency exists.

Among the four people who were killed were TV guests Pir Sulaiman Qandahari, Naat Khawans Muhammad Kamran and Syed Saifur Rehman Awaisi. The identity of the fourth fatality was not immediately known, but he or she is believed to have been a member of the audience.

In addition to the fatalities, at least fifteen people were injured, including Obaid and production chief Rasheed Dogar.

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