LAHORE Yet another inferno, which erupted inside the five-storey commercial plaza in Shah Alam market on Friday afternoon, reduced commercial products worth millions of rupees to ashes and leaving the adjacent plaza smoked. The fire broke out inside the 4th floor of the Data Plaza, adjacent to Japan Centre in Shah Alam market on Friday afternoon when trading was in full swing in the commercial vicinity. Firefighters said that the fire, which erupted due to short-circuiting, engulfed the entire plaza within minutes. Rescue workers, till late Friday night, were struggling hard to put out the fire even after hours-long operation, involving more than three dozen fire brigade vehicles besides crew of civil defence trucks and ambulances. Thick smoke was emanating from the plaza and the entire locality was plunged into darkness after the authorities shot down power supply to avoid the chances of electrocution. The rescue operation, we begun at about 2:45 pm is still underway. The rescuers are struggling to put out the fire till this moment, spokesman for the Emergency Service Rescue-1122 said. Farooq Ahmed further said that at least 30 shops or small godowns were totally damaged while the exact loss could be estimated once the operation is completed. Two burn victims were rushed to the Mayo Hospital and are under treatment. Three rescue workers and four other people also fainted due to the thick smoke emanating from the windows and corridors of the plaza, situated in the densely populated locality. The rescue workers are fine now, Ahmed added. Heavy police contingents rushed to the spot while ambulances and fire brigade trucks were witnessed racing towards the site to launch rescue operation. The heavy fire brigade vehicles were unable to reach the site as the traffic mess badly hampered the operation at initial stage. The police blocked the all the roads leading towards the Japan Centre and diverted the traffic flow to adjacent localities to ensure smooth passage for the vehicles performing rescue operation. According to the traders, commercial products like plastic chemical, toys, pampers, packaging materials and other goods worth millions of rupees were reduced to ashes in a few hours. There were dozens of shops and small godowns of various commercial products inside the plaza, where hundreds of small entrepreneurs are dealing in with wholesale businesses. Appalled traders were witnessed in tears sitting near to the plaza and helplessly watching their property assets on fire. Many traders were also witnessed battling hard to put out the fire by throwing sand bags and water on the fire while several of them were busing in pulling out the leftovers from the debris. Nearby buildings were also evacuated to avoid further damage while the traders shut down their businesses in the entire locality and joined the relief work. However, the firefighters were struggling hard to control the fire till filing of this report. In early February this year, huge fire erupted inside Bahria Tower situated in the same Shah Alam Market and a dozen people were found burnt to death in that inferno. Valuables worth billions were also reduced to ashes while three adjacent commercial buildings and one mosque were razed to the ground while five other buildings were also damaged, two of which were in a dilapidated condition.