Dozens missing after massive Karachi mall fire, 14 killed

Pakistani firefighters began searching the smouldering remains of a sprawling Karachi shopping mall on Monday for more than 60 people still missing after a massive fire that killed at least 14 people.

The fire started late on Saturday at Gul Plaza, which houses 1,200 shops in a multi-storey complex spread across an area larger than a football field in Karachi's historic centre.

Videos showed fierce flames rising from the building as firefighters laboured through the night to put out the blaze. On Monday, they began cooling the structure and clearing twisted metal and debris strewn across the street, along with fallen air-conditioning units and shop signboards.

Rescue workers warned that the remaining structure was unstable and could collapse at any moment.

Hundreds of people surrounded the building to watch the rescue efforts, including shop owners whose life's work was reduced to ash overnight.

"We've been left high and dry, reduced to zero; 20 years of hard work, all gone," said shop owner Yasmeen Bano.

Police chief Javed Alam Odho said that 14 people had been killed and around 60 others were still missing.

"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 around 18 people injured in the fire had been released 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.

'CAUSED BY CIRCUIT BREAKER'

According to rescue services, authorities received the first emergency call at 10:38 pm (1738 GMT) 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.

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," police chief Odho told reporters on Sunday. "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."

The 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.