At least 15 people were killed and dozens still missing as Pakistani firefighters searched the smouldering remains of a sprawling shopping centre in the southern city of Karachi on Monday.
The huge fire swept through shops and warehouses at the Gul Plaza in Karachi at around 10pm local time when most shop owners were winding down their businesses, while some had already left.
Gul Plaza houses 1,200 shops in a multi-storey complex spread across an area larger than a football field in Karachi's historic centre.
Footage from the scene showed intense flames engulfing the structure as firefighters battled the blaze through the night.
By Monday, crews had moved into a recovery phase, hosing down the remains of the building and beginning the hazardous task of removing mangled metal and debris scattered across the roadway. Dislodged air-conditioning units and shop signboards lay among the wreckage.
Emergency workers cautioned that what remained of the building was dangerously unstable, warning that parts of the structure could give way without notice. At least 60 people were still missing after the fire.
Large crowds gathered around the cordon as rescue teams worked, including traders who had lost their shops. Many stood watching as the scale of the destruction became clear.
"We've been left high and dry, reduced to zero; 20 years of hard work, all gone," shop owner Yasmeen Bano told Reuters.
Murad Ali Shah, the chief minister of the southern Sindh province that includes Karachi, said 15 people had been killed, including a firefighter, and 65 were still missing. He added that 80 people were injured in the blaze with 22 already released from hospital.
"The rescue efforts are underway and we hope it can be completed as soon as possible but I can't provide a timeframe," he said, adding that approximately 18 people who had been injured in the fire had since been discharged from hospital.
"As the rescue operations continue, the number of casualties may rise."
Anger was bubbling when Karachi's Mayor Murtaza Wahab visited the site on Sunday night after 23 hours, with people chanting anti-government slogans and protesting about the response time from the fire department, local media reported.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known. Police said an investigation would be launched once the blaze was extinguished. However, officials suspect that the fire began in the ground-floor shops and is believed to have been caused by a short circuit before spreading throughout the mall, according to police officer Mohsin Raza.
According to rescue services, authorities received the first emergency call at 10.38pm on Saturday, reporting that ground-floor shops were on fire. By the time firefighters arrived, the flames had already spread to the upper floors, engulfing much of the building.
Images of the mall's interior revealed the charred remains of stores and a bright orange glow as flames continued to rise throughout the building.
Dramatic TV footage showed multiple columns of thick black smoke emanating from the multistorey building as firefighters in protective gear battled the flames. Several fire trucks used ladders, water cannons and hoses to douse the building’s floors, where flames shot out of windows and balconies.
Firefighters said Gul Plaza's lack of ventilation caused thick smoke to fill the mall and slowed efforts to reach people trapped inside. "It appears to have been caused by a circuit breaker," Mr Odho told reporters.
"The layout and construction of this market was such, and secondly, the nature of the items in it, such as carpets, blankets and other objects made of resins,” so the fire is still simmering because of these."
Many local residents gathered to watch the firefighting operations, as worried family members also queued up.
Authorities said the fire spread rapidly after erupting in an area of the mall where shopkeepers had stored imported garments, clothing and plastic household goods.
Fire incidents are common in South Asia, as most structures and other parts of the country lack fire prevention and firefighting systems, which often result in damage and casualties.
However, thee blaze at Gul Plaza could be Karachi's biggest fire since an industrial site went up in flames in 2012, killing more than 260 people. A court ruled in 2020 that that case involved arson.
The incident follows a separate fire a day earlier at the Karachi Port Trust, where at least 20 containers, most carrying electrical batteries, were destroyed.
In November last year, at least 18 workers were killed, and 21 were injured after an explosion at a glue-making factory in Faisalabad city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Police said they had arrested the factory’s manager and were searching for the owner, who fled shortly after the explosion.
Additional reporting by agencies
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