MENA Newswire, KARACHI: Rescue teams searched through debris at Karachi’s Gul Plaza shopping complex on Tuesday after a large fire swept through the commercial building over the weekend, killing at least 21 people and leaving 63 others missing, according to Rescue 1122 officials involved in the operation. The fire began late Saturday and burned for nearly two days, officials said, damaging much of the multi storey plaza on M.A. Jinnah Road in the Saddar area, a dense retail district in Pakistan’s largest city.
Authorities said the search shifted from firefighting to recovery as crews used heavy equipment to remove rubble from collapsed sections and access lower levels. A Rescue 1122 official, Rizwan Ahmed, said remains recovered from the site were being sent for identification, including DNA testing where needed. Emergency services and municipal staff maintained a perimeter around the building due to concerns about structural stability, while families gathered nearby to seek updates through official helplines and on site coordination points.
Gul Plaza is a sprawling market known for wholesale and retail trade, housing about 1,200 family run shops selling garments, household goods, and other merchandise. Officials said the concentration of combustible inventory contributed to rapid smoke and heat spread once the blaze took hold. Parts of the structure collapsed during the incident, complicating access to interior corridors and stairwells and forcing rescuers to work in stages as engineers assessed the risk of further failure.
Officials said multiple injuries were reported among those who escaped, and hospitals in Karachi were placed on emergency footing during the first hours of the response to receive burn and smoke inhalation cases. Fire units from the city and provincial services rotated crews as the blaze continued into Monday. Investigators began securing sections of the site for examination once flames were mostly extinguished, focusing on the fire’s origin point and the sequence of failures that hindered evacuation.
Locked exits and emergency response under scrutiny
Authorities said a preliminary review found that 13 of the building’s 16 exits were locked at the time the fire spread, leaving limited routes for people attempting to leave as smoke filled passageways. Officials said the locks were among the issues being examined by investigators alongside fire alarm coverage, stairwell access, and the availability of functional extinguishers and hose connections. Witness accounts provided to officials described people moving toward shuttered doors and attempting to break through barriers as conditions worsened inside.
Government officials said an inquiry was ordered into both the cause of the fire and the handling of the emergency response. Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah announced an investigation and directed provincial authorities to support forensic work. The provincial administration also announced compensation of 10 million Pakistani rupees for the family of each person confirmed dead, and said additional relief measures for affected shopkeepers would be assessed after damage surveys.
Local officials said the scale of destruction was extensive, with shop inventories lost across multiple floors and key sections of the mall’s commercial space rendered unusable. Utility teams worked to isolate damaged electrical lines and stabilize adjacent infrastructure as crews continued to clear debris. Law enforcement maintained security around the site, citing safety concerns and the need to preserve evidence, while permitting controlled access for recovery operations and official inspections.
Investigation and identification efforts continue
Rescue leaders said the missing count could change as teams reach previously inaccessible areas, including basement spaces and interior voids created by collapse. Identification remained a priority due to the condition of some recovered remains, officials said. Authorities also urged the public to rely on official channels for confirmed casualty figures as the operation continued and as missing persons reports were reconciled with hospital admissions and recovered victims.
The Karachi incident has renewed official focus on fire safety enforcement in crowded commercial buildings, with inspectors expected to review compliance records connected to the plaza and to examine whether safety requirements were met. For now, officials said the immediate objective was completing the search and recovery while maintaining site stability, documenting evidence for the inquiry, and supporting families seeking confirmation of those still unaccounted for.