ISLAMABAD: Authorities in Karachi are focused on ongoing rescue operations and the identification of victims and handover of remains to families, the city’s mayor said on Friday, after a deadly fire at a shopping plaza killed at least 67 people this month.

The blaze broke out on Jan. 17 at Gul Plaza, a densely packed commercial building in the heart of the city, trapping workers and shoppers inside and burning for more than 24 hours before being brought under control. Recovery operations are still underway as teams sift through unstable debris at the site.

Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab said in a statement the city administration remained focused on retrieving remains and returning them to families as quickly as possible. His remarks came after he visited the homes of several victims, according to a statement from his office.

“Rescue personnel of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation are still engaged in the rescue operation, while the administration is making every effort to hand over [remains] of the victims, loved ones to their families at the earliest,” Wahab was quoted as saying.

Identification has been complicated by the condition of the remains, Karachi Police Surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed told reporters.

Most of the bodies recovered so far were discovered in fragments, she said, making forensic identification extremely difficult and prolonging the process for families waiting for confirmation.

Relatives of more than a dozen missing persons have remained near the destroyed plaza and at hospitals even after submitting DNA samples for testing. Some families have voiced frustration over the pace of recovery and identification efforts.

Wahab said the provincial government stood with affected families and had committed to long-term support.

“The Sindh government would also not sit back until the victims are fully rehabilitated and that all possible support would be provided [to them],” he said.

Authorities have yet to determine the cause of the fire. Police have said preliminary indications point to a possible electrical short circuit in the plaza which houses over 1,200 shops, though officials stress that conclusions will only be drawn after investigations are completed.

Deadly fires are a recurring problem in Karachi, a city of more than 20 million people, where overcrowded markets, aging infrastructure, illegal construction and weak enforcement of safety regulations frequently contribute to disasters. 

Officials say a blaze of this scale is rare.

The Sindh government has announced compensation of Rs10 million ($35,720) for each person killed in the fire and said all affected shopkeepers would also be compensated.