KARACHI: At least 11 people were killed and several others sustained burn injuries as a fire engulfed a shopping mall in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi, known for its fragile firefighting system and poor safety controls, officials and rescue members said on Saturday.
The fire erupted in the RJ Shopping Mall building at around 6 in the morning and was finally extinguished after hours of efforts involving eight fire tenders, two snorkels and a water bowser, according to a Fire Department spokesperson.
The cooling process had commenced and a search was ongoing for any survivors trapped inside the building on the city’s Rashid Minhas Road.
“Eleven people have died and six others are in critical condition due to smoke and fire in RJ Shopping Mall,” Shahid Hussain, a spokesperson for the Chhipa Welfare Organization that runs a rescue service in the city, told Arab News.
Shabbir Ali Babar, a spokesperson for the Sindh provincial health department, confirmed the number of casualties and said the bodies were shifted to Jinnah and Civil hospitals in the city.
Sindh Caretaker Chief Minister Maqbool Baqar has directed the local administration to rescue people and provide immediate treatment to the injured.
“Protection of people’s lives is the responsibility of the government,” a statement from his office said.
Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and the main commercial hub, is home to hundreds of thousands of industrial units and some of the tallest buildings in the South Asian country.
But despite its magnitude, the city has only 22 fire stations, a little over a dozen functional fire tenders, few snorkels, and slightly more than a thousand firefighters — woefully inadequate for a megapolis that witnesses hundreds of fire incidents annually.
In April, four firefighters died and nearly a dozen others were injured after a fire broke out in a garment factory, while 10 people were killed in a massive fire at a chemical factory in the city in August 2021.
In the deadliest such incident, 260 people were killed in 2012 after being trapped inside a garment factory when a fire broke out.
At least 11 people killed in shopping mall fire in Pakistan’s Karachi
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At least 11 people killed in shopping mall fire in Pakistan’s Karachi
- Six injured persons are said to be in critical condition after firefighters douse the blaze, begin cooling process
- The southern Pakistani city, known for poor fire safety protocols, has witnessed such incidents in past as well
Pakistan’s Punjab deploys satellites, drones, AI to combat smog
- Senior minister warns industrial masks may become necessary without a change in public attitudes toward pollution
- Cities in Punjab face worsening smog each winter, driven by crop burning, vehicle emissions and industrial pollution
ISLAMABAD: Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb on Wednesday said Pakistan’s most populous province deployed satellites, drones and artificial intelligence to tackle smog, warning that industrial masks may become necessary if public attitudes toward air pollution did not change.
Punjab cities face worsening smog each winter, driven by crop burning, vehicle emissions and industrial pollution that threatens public health and daily life. The smog season typically begins in late October, peaks between November and January and can persist through February.
Smog causes symptoms such as sore throats, eye irritation and respiratory illnesses, while prolonged exposure raises the risk of stroke, heart disease and lung cancer. Children are more vulnerable due to higher breathing rates and weaker immune systems.
“We have the AI machine-learning forecasting system in place, surveillance drones and technology cameras,” Aurangzeb said while addressing an event.
“At present, what is considered one of the world’s best environmental protection forces — with training, equipment, technology and digitally integrated data — is operating in Punjab,” she added.
Aurangzeb said surveillance is now being carried out through drones.
“There is monitoring, technology, cameras,” she continued. “Everything is digital.”
The minister maintained the eastern corridor from India was a major source of smoke which becomes active during the winter season.
She said this was the first time a complete testing system was introduced by the Environmental Protection Agency to measure pollution released by vehicles.
She added the government has loaned 5,000 super seeders to farmers, which are agricultural machines that plant crops directly into fields without removing leftover stubble, reducing crop burning, and helping curb winter smog.
Aurangzeb warned the situation could reach a point where people may have to use industrial masks and carry therm around like a “purse or wallet.”
“This will become a mandatory item if we do not change our attitudes and habits toward air quality, climate and conservation.”
Pakistan’s main urban centers routinely rank among the most polluted cities in the world, with vehicular emissions remaining one of the top contributors to air pollution.
The severe air pollution also undermines economic productivity and diminishes the quality of life for millions of residents.
