Karachi Shopping Plaza Fire Death Toll Rises To 72, Dozen Still Missing

At least 72 people have died in the fire that engulfed a shopping plaza in Pakistan’s Karachi, with around a dozen people still feared missing a week after the incident, officials said on Sunday, according to PTI.

The blaze erupted in the basement of the Gul Shopping Plaza, a wholesale and retail market, in the Saddar area on the night of January 17 and rapidly spread through the building. Firefighters managed to bring the inferno under control only after 36 hours, PTI reported.

Deputy Commissioner South Javed Nabi Khoso told the media on Sunday that 72 bodies or human remains had been recovered from the rubble and debris of the shopping complex. “The rescue and search operations which have continued for a week now would likely be wound up by tomorrow as the rubbles and debris are also being cleaned up from the building site,” Khoso said.

He added that authorities were still searching for around 12 people who were feared missing following the fire.

According to PTI, a case has been registered in connection with the incident at the shopping plaza, which housed nearly 1,200 wholesale and retail shops spread over an area of around 8,000 square feet and has been left in a dilapidated condition.

Dr Summaiya Syed, the police surgeon in Sindh province, said they had received 72 bodies and human remains since last Sunday. “The process of identification is very difficult because most of the bodies are badly burnt and charred and in many cases, we have just received body parts in bags from the site,” she said.

Syed said that so far only 22 bodies had been identified through DNA matching. “Still a lot of work remains to be done before all bodies are identified,” she added. She also said that around 20 people who were injured in the fire and brought to hospitals had since been discharged after treatment.

Khoso said search teams continued to recover human remains from the site. “Last night also we found human remains from the debris,” he said. He added that while a case was registered on Saturday, it was still too early to determine how and where the fire started, or why many people inside the building were unable to escape through the exit doors, PTI reported.

The incident has once again highlighted the lack of fire-fighting equipment and safety measures in many commercial buildings in Karachi, including shopping plazas, malls and office complexes.

Muazzam Khan, a director at the Sindh Building Control Authority, said a fresh audit of several commercial buildings had been carried out following the fire, and notices had been issued to 30 buildings directing them to immediately comply with safety requirements.

(With inputs from PTI)