In brief
A fire on Friday destroyed 135 stalls in the Bakhtar underground market in Mazar‑i‑Sharif, causing heavy economic loss. Local media TOLOnews and Xinhua reported no casualties, and investigation teams have been dispatched to determine the cause. The blaze gutted clothing, footwear, and tourist office stalls, and traders are facing significant losses as the inquiry continues.
A blaze erupted on Friday night in the Bakhtar underground market in Mazar‑i‑Sharif, the capital of Afghanistan’s Balkh province, reducing at least 135 shops to ash and inflicting heavy economic damage.
The incident was reported by local media outlet TOLOnews and confirmed by the Xinhua news agency, which stated that the fire spread rapidly through the market’s low‑level corridors where vendors sell a variety of goods.
According to Xinhua, the most affected stalls were those dealing with clothing, footwear and tourist office services. Many traders lost inventories of clothing, packed shoes and travel documents that had been worth thousands of afghanis.
Local sources confirmed that no human casualties were reported; firefighters reached the site quickly and managed to extinguish the fire before it could spread to surrounding buildings.
Investigators have been deployed to the scene to determine the cause of the blaze. The inquiry is still underway, and no official cause has yet been announced.
The destruction has left a significant number of shopkeepers without their livelihoods, as traders are now grappling with the loss of inventory and the challenge of rebuilding their stalls. The incident highlights the vulnerability of underground markets in the region and the need for better fire‑safety measures.