Pakistan: 30 bodies recovered from one shop after fatal fire at Karachi's Gul Plaza

Karachi South Deputy Inspector General Syed Asad Raza told Dawn that the remains of 30 individuals were found at a shop named "Dubai Crockery" located on the mezzanine floor.

Earlier in the day, rescue workers had recovered three more bodies, taking the toll from 28 to 31. With this discovery, the overall death toll from the blaze is estimated at 61. However, Raza cautioned that a final figure can only be confirmed after the DNA reports are received.

He said that relatives of the missing and shopkeepers had earlier indicated the possibility of many people being inside the shop at the time. Raza added that the victims, as per the last contact, had believed they would be safe and the fire would be controlled but had suffocated to death while waiting, as quoted by Dawn.

On the involvement of a bomb disposal squad at the site, the South police chief said that so far no evidence of mischief had emerged during the initial investigation, according to Dawn.

A local resident, Rasheed, told Dawn that the shop had announced a sale for the wedding season and remained open until 2 a.m., although it usually closed at 10 p.m.

The fire broke out at Gul Plaza on Saturday night. Though the blaze, located on MA Jinnah Road, was reportedly doused after more than 24 hours on Sunday, firefighting efforts had to resume on Monday as flames reignited from smouldering debris. The plaza, partially collapsed due to the fire, was a ground-plus-three-storey building housing 1,200 shops across 8,000 square yards.

Karachi Commissioner Syed Hassan Naqvi, convener of the inquiry committee formed by the Sindh government to probe the fire, visited the gutted plaza, accompanied by Karachi Additional Inspector General Azad Khan, also a committee member.

Speaking to the media, the commissioner said that the inquiry had just begun, highlighting that the building's condition, along with the adjacent Rimpa Plaza, had been affected. He noted that Rimpa Plaza had not yet been declared dangerous. Naqvi also said that fire safety measures inside the buildings did not meet international standards.

The additional Karachi IG said that no evidence of sabotage had been found so far. "We are investigating the incident thoroughly," he said, refuting media reports claiming that two dumper trucks transporting debris from the plaza to KMC ground had disappeared.

KMC's Zafar Khan told the media that the firefighting team was still working at the plaza despite "extreme heat," while cooling work continued at two spots.

He added that one portion of the building had been cleared, with two others in progress. Khan said efforts would continue to retrieve bodies trapped under the debris, deploying firemen to structurally stable areas.

"We will try to retrieve the bodies buried under the debris," he vowed, adding that firemen were being sent to the spots where the building's structure was still stable, Khan said as reported by Dawn.

He also dismissed claims of delayed response, saying three fire tenders were dispatched immediately after receiving information on Saturday night. Khan noted that shopkeepers had created chaos by allegedly snatching pipes from firefighters to extinguish flames at their own shops.

He added that the door to the building's roof was locked, preventing access, and that most exits were closed since the market was about to close when the fire erupted.

According to the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), parts of Rimpa Plaza, a 13-storey building adjacent to Gul Plaza, were affected due to heat exposure. SBCA Director General Muzammil Halepota told Dawn that three floors had been impacted and two pillars weakened. The SBCA recommended jacketing with steel supports to strengthen the pillars, a process which has now begun. A notice has also been issued to the owners for repair.

"An SBCA team has started the process," Halepota said, adding that a notice had also been issued to the owners of Rimpa Plaza regarding the pillars' repair.

Karachi Commissioner Syed Hassan Naqvi described the inquiry as "complicated," with multiple angles to be examined, and promised "long-term and far-reaching recommendations" to the government.

Separately, Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori met a delegation led by Gul Plaza President Tanveer Pasta and Karachi Chamber of Commerce's Javed Balwani.

A statement from the governor's office said Pasta appreciated Tessori's role in "timely rescue operations and effective measures" and thanked him for "raising his voice for the victims" at every forum.

The statement added that Pasta "agreed, in principle, with the recommendations of the Sindh governor and Karachi Chamber of Commerce."

The SBCA rejected reports that Gul Plaza's building records were unavailable, calling such claims "baseless and contrary to facts." The authority said all approved records, including sanctioned and completion plans, are preserved. Originally constructed in 1979, the building's revised plan was approved in 1998 and regularised in 2003 under the Regularisation Amendment Ordinance.

"The impression being given that the records of Gul Plaza are not available with the SBCA is incorrect," the authority said in a statement, reported by Dawn.

It said that all approved records related to Gul Plaza, including sanctioned plans, completion plans, and construction details, were "preserved and available with the authority".

"Thereafter, under the Regularisation Amendment Ordinance 2001, the project was duly regularised in 2003 in accordance with the prescribed rules and regulations," SCBA said.

"A revised no-objection certificate (NOC) for sale and advertisement was issued in 2005, under which approval was granted for 175 shops in the basement, 355 shops on the ground floor, 188 shops on the first floor, 193 shops on the second floor, and 191 shops on the third floor, making a total of 1,102 approved shops."

According to Dawn, the SBCA stated that the building was equipped with two staircases connecting the basement to the ground floor, six staircases between the ground and first floors, five staircases from the second to the third floor, and 16 emergency exit routes on the ground floor.

However, South DIG Asad Raza told Dawn that 14 of these 16 exits were found to be closed at the time of the fire.

In a statement quoted by Dawn, the SBCA said it "completely rejects any notion of concealing facts or disappearance of records," asserting that all legal and technical documents related to Gul Plaza remain available with the authority.

The authority further said that it believes in "full cooperation and transparent investigations," adding that a fact-based report would be submitted to fix responsibility, as per Dawn. (ANI)