Karachi Gul Plaza Fire Death Toll Nears 50

Firefighters in Karachi recovered the bodies of as many as 25 people from the wreckage of a shopping mall fire on January 21, raising the death toll to about 50. The blaze, the largest the port city has seen in more than a decade, erupted late on January 17 and quickly engulfed the vast Gul Plaza shopping complex.

Gul Plaza was known for its 1,200 family-owned shops selling wedding clothes, toys, crockery and other items. Deputy Commissioner Javed Nabi Khoso told reporters that authorities had found between 20 and 25 bodies, which had been taken to a hospital for DNA testing.

Khoso said identification was proving difficult, making it hard to provide an exact death toll. The official count stood at 29 on January 20. A small group gathered near the ruins to pay tribute, lighting candles and holding photos of those believed to have died.

Firefighters continued to battle the blaze inside the mall until January 20. By the time the fire was brought under control, the complex had been reduced to ash and rubble. A state rescue service said 84 people were registered missing, and police have warned that most are feared dead, suggesting the death toll could still rise.

«It is a doomsday scenario,» shopkeeper Rehmat Khan said after seeing the wreckage. He said around 18 to 20 people, including six staff members, were in his shop when the fire broke out, and all remain missing.

The blaze is the deadliest in Karachi since a 2012 industrial fire that killed more than 260 people.