The death toll from a massive fire in a shopping plaza in Karachi, Pakistan, rose to 23 on Monday, police said, as rescuers recovered more bodies from the badly damaged building. Dozens are still missing.
Firefighters extinguished the fire in the multi-storey arena late Sunday, about 24 hours after it broke out, allowing rescue teams to enter the building. Authorities fear the death toll will rise while searching for 46 more people, according to the city’s police chief, Asad Raza.
Only six bodies have been identified so far, Reda told The Associated Press on Monday. Police surgeon Dr Somaya Sy said the rest would need DNA testing because “the bodies have not been identified”.
Earlier, Sindh Prime Minister Murad Ali Shah said in a press conference in Karachi that rescue teams were searching for survivors and the dead. He said that among those killed in the fire was a firefighter and that the government would provide 10 million rupees ($36,000) in compensation to the family of each person killed.
Ali Reda/AFP
The fire broke out on Saturday in Gul Plaza, which includes 1,200 stores in a complex larger than a football field. Reuters reported. Dr Abid Jalal Sheikh, Karachi’s chief rescue officer, said the fire spread quickly through stores storing cosmetics, clothes and plastic goods.
While rescue teams were searching for survivors, hundreds of people were outside the building. Among them was shop owner Yasmin Bano, who said: “We were left in the lurch, reduced to zero; 20 years of hard work, everything gone,” according to Reuters.
Some relatives of the missing were also outside the burning square on Monday, hoping for news.
Qaiser Ali said his daughter, daughter-in-law and sister went shopping on Saturday and were inside the building when the fire broke out. He said he spoke to the three on a mobile phone on Sunday, when they fell silent.
“I don’t know what happened to them or whether they are alive,” Ali told the AP. “We pray that all those missing will come out safely.”
Ali Reda/AFP 
Muhammad Abrar said that he managed to escape from the fire, but his brother Saif al-Rahman, who owns a shop in the square, stayed behind. He said he feared for his safety.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known. Police said the investigation is ongoing.
Karachi, the capital of Sindh province, has a history of deadly fires, which are often blamed on poor safety standards and illegal construction. In November 2023, a fire in a mall in the city killed 10 people and injured 22 others.
A massive fire in a garment factory in Karachi in 2012 killed 260 people.