Fire: 10 tonnes of foodstuff removed from shops

DohaMunicipal authorities on Monday removed nearly 10 tonnes of foodstuff from several shops at Kilo Market, located on the Central Market premises in Abu Hamour, as the items were reportedly affected by the smoke that emanated from the stores destroyed by Sunday's fire.More than a dozen shops, mostly belonging to wholesalers, selling food grains were destroyed in the blaze that lasted several hours. Most of the goods that were removed by the authorities were stored in the neighbourhood of the shops that were destroyed.The municipal authorities said the goods removed from the shops were not fit for consumption as they were exposed to toxic fumes during yesterday's fire. The goods would be destroyed by the authorities.The municipality deployed several staff members in the area from early in the morning yesterday to remove the items. Some of its senior officials supervised the operations.Besides huge quantities of rice and wheat flour, goods such as oil, dried foodstuff, juices in tetra packs, vegetables and fruits were among the items removed from the shops.Thick smoke had engulfed the market for hours on Sunday, leading to fears that the foodstuff might have become contaminated due to the exposure to fumes.Several firefighters were deployed to douse the flames after the fire reportedly broke out at the market around afternoon on Sunday. There were no injuries.