Gul Plaza death toll reaches 60 after 30 bodies found in one shop

The death toll from the Gul Plaza fire in Karachi has risen to 60 after 30 bodies were recovered from a single shop in the multi-storey building on Wednesday.

Speaking to the media, South DIG Syed Asad Raza said that the bodies were found on the mezzanine floor of the shopping mall. He explained that the victims had locked themselves inside a crockery shop in an attempt to save their lives.

Suleman, the owner of the crockery shop, said that 14 bodies were recovered from his shop. He added that his cousins, employees, and customers were inside the shop when the fire broke out.

However, police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed said that the remains of 21 bodies from two shops were brought to the Civil Hospital. She added, “We cannot yet confirm whether these are 21 bodies or remains of more individuals.”
She further said, “Since this morning, only remains of bodies have been brought to the Civil Hospital,”.

Meanwhile, District South Deputy Commissioner Javed Nabi Khoso said that the building will not be demolished as long as even one person remains missing. Speaking to reporters, he said that 86 people are still missing after the fire and added, “when everything is complete, the entire building will be demolished”.

The deputy commissioner also said that the locations of 39 missing people were traced back to the shopping centre. So far, 17 recovered bodies are yet to be identified, while 11 bodies have been identified.

The massive fire, described as Karachi’s biggest blaze in over a decade, broke out late Saturday at Gul Plaza, a large shopping complex with 1,200 shops spread over an area larger than a football field. The fire continued for more than 24 hours before firefighters managed to put it out.

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