KARACHI: When smoke began billowing from the ducts of the sprawling Gul Plaza shopping complex in Karachi late on Saturday, those inside thought a small fire had broken out in a corner of the mall.
But the flames spread quickly and tore through a structure housing 1,200 shops in Karachi’s historic center.
“It swallowed up the entire mall in front of our eyes,” said store owner Shahbaz Iqbal, 27. Reuters Monday, after the fire was largely extinguished following a 24-hour firefight. Authorities said more than 60 people were still missing and 21 had died.
“We thought it was a small fire. Nobody ever thought it would be this bad.”
Iqbal and his co-workers ran up the stairs and left the mall through one of the basement exits, but those coming from the upper floors were not so lucky. Since the facility will be closing soon, most of the mall’s doors were closed.
Senior police officer Syed Asad Raza said Reuters that all but three of the mall’s 16 exits were closed.
“When I entered (the building), I saw the locks,” said lifeguard Aqeel, who declined to reveal his full name because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Gul Plaza management did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
‘All my people’
As rescuers dug through piles of rubble, human remains were carried out of the building on white cotton sheets made into makeshift sacks.
Shafi Ahmed, owner of a basement shop, stood with his hands folded in prayer.
When asked if anyone he knew was inside, he said five of his friends stayed at the mall.
“These are all our people. These are all my people. These are our people,” he said, breaking down into tears.
Police struggled to contain grieving families and shop owners who said they had lost everything.
At one point, officials discovered a drawer full of money, sparking a fight between store owners who claimed it was theirs.
Growing anger
Hundreds of protesters gathered around the smoldering remains of the building on Monday to hold authorities accountable.
Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah promised an investigation into the fire and response time, while Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab, who arrived at the scene nearly 24 hours after the fire broke out, was greeted with boos from the angry crowd.
Roads still under construction outside Gul Plaza were flooded with water after the shooting. Rescue officials sat in a tent outside the building, writing down the names of the missing.
Razia, 40, who goes by one name, said six of her relatives worked in the building.
“One of them jumped with two of his friends. One of the friends broke his legs and the other died instantly,” he said, describing the story of his relative, his nephew.
Another member of his family, a flower shop worker named Ibrar, did not make it out. He broke down a door to help others escape, “but he’s still trapped… no one has heard from him since Saturday,” Razia said.
