Karachi, Jan 19 (.) A massive fire at a prominent mall in Karachi has so far claimed 23 lives, with 65 people reported missing. The fire that erupted at the Gul Plaza mall on Saturday night, took 24 hours to douse. However, the fire reignited from the smouldering debris on Monday.
Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab said that 65 people remained missing in the fire at the mall, located on M.A Jinnah Road.
Parts of the ground-plus-three-storey building collapsed due to the blaze. The plaza comprised of 1,200 shops spread over 8,000 square yards.
On Monday evening, Karachi South Deputy Inspector General Syed Asad Raza told Dawn that 23 bodies had been recovered from the debris.
Rescue 1122 Chief Operating Officer (COO) Dr Abid Jalal said that while “more than 20 bodies have been recovered, the final number of dead cannot be stated at the moment”.
“Some bodies have been recovered in the form of body parts from various locations,” he said.
Mohammed Shah, who was supervising Pakistan Navy’s fire brigade team at the spot, said the fire had been controlled on Monday evening but smoke was still emanating from the site.
Karachi Additional IG Azad Khan told the media gathered at the scene that no evidence had emerged thus far suggesting arson.
Speaking on Geo News’ ‘Capital Talk’, Sindh Local Government Minister Nasir Hussain Shah said the Sindh government was ready to form a judicial commission to probe the incident.
Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab said the tally thus far showed that 65 people were missing. He said that firefighting operations had concluded and cooling work was ongoing. “We have been able to access three areas of the building: we can enter two areas where the structure is still standing, and one portion in the rear that collapsed,” Wahab said.
The mayor added that until last night, reports of movement were received but when those areas were accessed by rescuers, there were no signs of life.
He said an inquiry committee had been formed to ascertain the facts. Sindh CM Murad announced Rs10 million in compensation for each deceased person’s family.
He announced that an inquiry committee was being set up to probe the incident, headed by Karachi Commissioner Hassan Naqvi. He asserted that the inquiry’s aim was not to point blame but to acknowledge and correct one’s mistakes.
However, he added, “If there is any evidence of sabotage, then obviously action will be taken.” He said 40 per cent of the mall’s building had collapsed, adding that the rest of it was in poor state.
“Perhaps, we might need to demolish the entire building,” he feared. CM Murad also expressed the Sindh government’s desire to rehabilitate the affected businesses and make them functional again.
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