Death toll in Pakistan shopping centre fire rises to at least 67: Officials
Sharp rise in fatalities at Karachi’s Gul Plaza Shopping Centre came after 30 bodies were found in a locked store.
The death toll from a fire at a shopping centre in the Pakistani city of Karachi has risen to at least 67, health and police officials said, after dozens of bodies were found.
Health official Dr Summaiya Syed said on Thursday that rescue teams were still searching the severely damaged Gul Plaza, days after the blaze ripped through the densely packed complex on Saturday.
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Syed said at least 67 people were confirmed dead – a death toll that was also corroborated by senior Karachi police official Asad Raza.
The increased toll came after local officials said at least 30 bodies were recovered from a store on the mezzanine floor of the shopping centre, “Dubai Crockery”.
Karachi South Deputy Commissioner Javed Nabi Khoso said the victims had locked themselves in the shop in a bid to protect themselves.
Local media reported that the victims had taken refuge inside the store after a stampede broke out in the mall during the early moments of the fire, which investigators say erupted at a time when most shop owners were either closing for the day or had already left.
Rescue teams have been working to locate dozens of people still missing after the blaze quickly spread through the shopping centre, fuelled by goods such as cosmetics, clothing and plastic household items.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah expressed grief over the rising death toll and ordered that debris removal be halted until all bodies were retrieved, local media reported.
Teams were collecting samples from remains found in the complex for identification, as officials warned the toll could rise further.
More than 50 families have given DNA samples, Syed, the police surgeon, told reporters on Wednesday.
“We will hand over the [remains] to the family, once DNA samples are matched,” she said outside the Civil Hospital Karachi mortuary, the AFP news agency reported.
Relatives of the missing have criticised the slow operation at the three-storey complex in the wake of the blaze.
Faraz Ali, whose father and 26-year-old brother were inside the mall, told AFP he wanted “the bodies to be recovered and handed over to their rightful families”.
“That is all so that the families may receive something, some comfort, some peace. At least let us see them one last time, in whatever condition they are, so that we may say our final goodbye,” the 28-year-old said.
Karachi Commissioner Syed Hassan Naqvi, head of an inquiry committee formed by the Sindh government to investigate the fire, visited the mall on Wednesday and said that the fire safety measures did not meet international standards, local media reported.
No specific cause has yet been given for the blaze.
Karachi has a history of deadly fires, often blamed on poor safety standards and illegal construction, although ones with such a high death toll are rare.
In November 2023, a fire at a shopping centre in the city killed 10 people and injured 22 others.
A blaze at a garments factory in Karachi in 2012 killed 260 people.
