SUKKUR: A fire at an illegal petrol outlet reduced five shops to ashes in Ahmed Mian Soomro village within the limits of the Airport police station in Jacobabad on Monday.

The operator of the outlet suffered burn injuries and was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Initial inquiry suggested that the fire erupted after an electrical short circuit at the outlet and rapidly spread to engulf four adjacent shops — a general store, a bakery, a mobile phones outlet and a shoe store. Local residents managed to put out the fire on their own.—Correspondent