KARACHI: The tragedy of the Gul Plaza fire deepened as rescuers recovered at least 30 bodies from a mezzanine store on Wednesday, raising the death toll from the city’s deadliest fire in more than a decade to 60, with dozens still missing.
The discovery came after rescue teams moved to the mezzanine, following a pause in operations on the first and second floors.
DIG South Syed Asad Raza said the 30 bodies were found inside a single crockery shop on the mezzanine floor. He added that the rescue operation will move to its next phase once the bodies are transported to the hospital.
While initial reports suggested that there were between 20 and 25 bodies inside the shop, DIG Raza confirmed that the total number was 30. With the discovery in the shop, the death toll from the inferno rose to 60.
After the discovery, the DIG South formed a special team to transfer the bodies to the Civil Hospital.
Rescue teams including Rescue 1122, Edhi officials, Rangers and Chhipa volunteers were removed from the building while a large number of ambulances were sent for the operation.
Police quickly cordoned off the area and called in additional personnel to ensure smooth operations. Meanwhile, authorities were not sure whether the bodies recovered were those of merchants, workers or customers.
Today operations were concentrated on the third floor; However, around 2:00 p.m., efforts were temporarily halted and teams were redirected to search the mezzanine.
Store No. 144, where the bodies were discovered, was identified with the help of a shopkeeper who had seen people entering the store during the incident.
The victims reportedly took shelter inside the store after a stampede broke out in the mall during the initial moments of the fire.
Many other people inside the building had sought shelter in shops, corners and under sheds, as most of the mall’s exits were closed when the fire broke out.
Previously, operation of water tanks and other heavy machinery on the first and second floors was temporarily stopped to allow access to the mezzanine.
Meanwhile, Karachi South Deputy Commissioner noted that several areas of the building are yet to be cleared and rescue operations in those sections will begin later in the day.
