Death toll from Karachi mall fire rises to about 50, official says

Pakistani firefighters on Wednesday recovered up to 25 bodies from the rubble of a shopping mall fire in Karachi, pushing the death toll to around 50.

The worst blaze to hit the port city in more than a decade erupted late Saturday and rapidly swept through the vast Gul Plaza shopping complex, home to about 1,200 family-run stores selling wedding attire, toys, crockery and other goods. “We have found 20 to 25 bodies, or what remains of them,” Deputy Commissioner Javed Nabi Khoso told reporters, adding that the remains were sent to hospital for DNA identification.

Because of the difficulty in identifying the victims, Khoso said it was not possible to give an exact figure. The official death toll had stood at 29 on Tuesday.

Near the gutted site, a small group of mourners lit candles in tribute, some holding photographs of those believed to have died.

Firefighters battled the blaze inside the mall until Tuesday. By the time it was finally brought under control, Gul Plaza had been reduced to a heap of ash and debris.

A state-run rescue service has listed 84 people as missing, while police say most of them are feared dead, raising concerns that the toll could climb further.

“It is a doomsday scenario,” said shopkeeper Rehmat Khan after seeing what remained of the plaza. He said around 18 to 20 people, including six staff members, had been inside his shop when the fire broke out, and all were still missing.

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