A huge fire swept through a multistory shopping mall in Pakistan’s largest city, claiming the lives of at least six people, including a firefighter.
Emergency services rushed to the Gul Plaza in Karachi shortly after 10pm local time on Saturday following reports of the blaze, police and rescue officials said.
Videos showed flames rising from the building as firefighters laboured through the night to stop the fire from spreading in the dense business district.
Hundreds of people had gathered around the building, including distraught store owners whose businesses had turned to ash.
According to local media, most shop owners were closing their stores or had already left when the fire broke out and spread quickly.
‘When we arrived, the fire from the ground floor had spread to the upper floors, and almost the entire building was already engulfed in flames,’ Rescue 1122 spokesperson Hassanul Haseeb Khan said.
Police surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed said six bodies had been brought to Karachi’s Civil Hospital and 11 people who had been injured, adding that police were ‘invoking mass disaster protocols’.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known. Police said an investigation would be launched once the blaze was extinguished.
South Deputy Commissioner (DC) Javed Nabi Khoso told Geo News their information desk had received the names of 16 missing people from their families so far.
‘We have cordoned off the area and are trying to extinguish the blazes phase-wise,’ DC Khoso said, adding that authorities were gathering information about the number of people trapped inside the building.
Delhi Colony residents Mansoor and Jameel told local DawnNewsTV that they were unable to contact six of their family members who had come to Gul Plaza last night for shopping.
They said their last contact was at around 10:10pm last night, after which their mobile numbers were not reachable.
The missing members comprised three women, two men, and a 14-year-old girl.
Speaking to the media at the site on Sunday, Karachi Deputy Mayor Salman Abdullah Murad said the search for missing people will begin after the fire has been put out and the cooling process has been completed.
A firefighter identified as Furqan Shoukat also lost his life during the fire-extinguishing efforts, according to a statement by Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab.
‘In this time of grief, we stand with the family of martyred Furqan, and the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation will provide full support to its martyred employees,’ the mayor said, as per DawnNews.
Most structures in Karachi, and other parts of the country, lack fire prevention and firefighting systems, which often results in damage and casualties.
TV footage showed firefighters in protective gear battling 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.
Thick black smoke billowed into the night sky and was visible from several blocks away.
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.
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, which helped fuel the flames.
Local media reported that parts of the building had started to collapse, and rescue officials feared the whole structure could come down.
Karachi is the capital of southern Sindh province, where such incidents are common. In November 2023, a fire tore through a shopping mall in the city, killing 10 people and injuring 22 others.
