ISLAMABAD/KARACHI: A deadly fire at a major shopping plaza in Pakistan’s largest city of Karachi has caused estimated losses of up to Rs15 billion ($53.6 million), a traders representative said this week, as authorities continue rescue and recovery operations and struggle to identify dozens of victims killed in the blaze.
The fire broke out on Jan. 17 at Gul Plaza, a densely packed commercial building in the heart of Karachi and home to over 1,200 shops, trapping workers and shoppers inside and burning for more than 24 hours before being brought under control. At least 67 people have been confirmed dead, officials say, while recovery teams remain at the site amid fears of further structural collapse.
Tanveer Pasta, president of the Gul Plaza Market Association, said all shops in the plaza were destroyed, estimating total losses at up to Rs15 billion ($53.6 million).
“There were big importers sitting here,” he told Arab News on Thursday. “Just three days before this fire, 31 [shipping] containers were unloaded.”
Earlier this week, the Sindh government had announced compensation of Rs10 million ($35,720) for each person killed in the fire and said affected shopkeepers would also receive financial assistance.
Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab said the city administration remained focused on rescue operations and on handing over victims’ remains to their 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 significantly slowed by the condition of the bodies recovered from the site, Karachi Police Surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed said.
Most remains were found in fragments, she said, complicating forensic identification 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 providing DNA samples. Some families have criticized what they describe as the slow pace of recovery and identification.
Wahab said the provincial government had committed to supporting affected families and rehabilitating victims.
“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 not yet confirmed the cause of the fire. Police have said preliminary indications point to a possible electrical short circuit, though officials stress 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.
