- Firefighters are searching for about 70 missing people.
- Rescue efforts are hampered by an unstable structure and debris.
- Anger increases at the speed of response, the government orders an investigation.
Firefighters and rescue personnel are pulling bodies from the smoldering remains of Karachi’s sprawling Gul Square on Monday, where about 70 people remain missing after a massive fire that killed at least 26.
The city’s biggest fire in more than a decade started late on Saturday and is home to 1,200 shops in the multi-storey complex spread over an area larger than a football field. The fire in Karachi’s historic center burned for more than 24 hours before it was largely extinguished.
Videos showed flames tearing through the building as firefighters worked through the night to put out the blaze. On Monday, they began cooling the structure and cleaning up twisted metal and debris scattered across the street, along with downed air conditioning units and store signs.
Most of the building had collapsed by Monday afternoon; Cranes demolished the remaining structure over fears it might collapse.
Qasir Khan said his wife, daughter-in-law and mother had gone to the mall on Saturday night and were among those still missing.
“The bodies will leave here in pieces. No one will be able to recognize them,” Khan said, blaming rescue efforts for not being fast enough. “They could have saved a lot of people.”
Hundreds of people surrounded the building as rescuers searched for survivors, including shop owners whose jobs were reduced to ashes overnight.
“We are out of work, reduced to zero; 20 years of hard work, all gone,” said shopkeeper Yasmeen Bano.
anger by fire
Rescuers were removing human remains in sacks before sending them for DNA testing. They stopped regularly to drink water after enduring the intense heat of the rubble.
Anger boiled over when Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab visited the site on Sunday night, with people chanting anti-government slogans and protesting the fire department’s response time.
Kosar Bano said six members of his family had gone to the mall to shop for a wedding. The last time he heard from them, they said they would be home in 15 minutes.
“The only hope we have is how many hands we will find, how many fingers we will find and how many legs we will find. That’s all,” he said.
Thick smoke filled the building.
According to the rescue services, the authorities received the first emergency call at 10:38 p.m. (17:38 GMT) on Saturday, reporting that shops on the ground floor were on fire. When firefighters arrived, the flames had already spread to the upper floors, engulfing much of the building.
Images from inside the mall revealed the charred remains of the stores and a bright orange glow as flames continued to rise throughout the building.
Firefighters said Gul Plaza’s lack of ventilation caused thick smoke to fill the building and slowed efforts to reach people trapped inside.
“I admit there are flaws. I cannot say whose fault it is. An investigation will be carried out and heads will roll,” said Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.
Provincial police chief Javed Alam Odho previously said the fire was caused by an electrical fault, but Shah said the reason was still unknown.
The fire could be the largest in Karachi since an industrial site caught fire in 2012, killing more than 260 people. A court ruled in 2020 that the disaster was arson.
