Eight dead, dozens missing in massive Pakistan mall fire

A massive fire that tore through a shopping centre in Pakistan’s largest city has killed eight people, including a firefighter, and rescuers are racing to find dozens more still missing.

It took firefighters more than 24 hours to put out the blaze in Gul Plaza that started Saturday night. The building housed 1,200 stores and spanned 8,000 sq m (86,111 sq ft).

Parts of the building have collapsed, with officials saying the debris and lack of ventilation were hampering rescue efforts.

“Almost the entire building was already engulfed in flames”, by the time rescuers arrived at the site on Saturday night, local emergency services said.

Fifty-eight people have been reported missing by their families, who have gathered outside what remains of the centre, waiting anxiously for news of their loved ones. Administrators for the city have set up a desk to register the names and details of the missing.

Smoke was still billowing from what remains of the Gul Plaza building on Sunday morning. Much of it has collapsed and there are concerns it could collapse further.

Hassan Khan, a spokesperson for Rescue 1122 in Karachi, told BBC Urdu the fire spread rapidly because of the presence of flammable materials such as plastic foam, cloth, and perfume in the building.

By Sunday evening, various parts of the Gul Plaza were charred and reduced to rubble. Rescuers told Reuters news agency that the whole building could come down.

Summaiya Syed, Karachi’s police surgeon, said on Sunday that six bodies had been transferred to the city’s Civil Hospital as well as some of the injured. At least 20 people were injured, according to authorities.

She added that the police were “invoking mass disaster protocols”.

Zain, a shopkeeper at Gul Plaza, told BBC Urdu that hundreds of people were inside the building when the fire broke out on Saturday.

“My shops were burning before my eyes. We couldn’t even get the goods out of those shops.

“There are still many people inside, I have many friends who are out of contact,” he said.

Another onlooker said shopkeepers had tried to use fire extinguishers, but the intense blaze was uncontainable.

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari expressed his condolences and told the government of Sindh province, where Karachi is based, to conduct a comprehensive review of safety arrangements in commercial and residential buildings across the area.