Karachi shopping mall fire death toll climbs to 26, over 70 missing

In Pakistan, the death toll in the Gul Plaza shopping mall fire in Karachi climbed to 26, while over 70 remain missing. Rescue officials said teams recovered mortal remains of three people, including a child, during the rescue operation. The Karachi Commissioner said the death toll could surge to over 50. Efforts are underway to remove debris and fully extinguish the fire. People have slammed the Sindh government and the Karachi Mayor for the delay in the action.The fire was brought under control by Sunday night, nearly 24 hours after it erupted.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has announced PKR 10 million (USD 36,000 approx) in compensation for the victims’ families. “There has been a considerable loss of lives in this incident… We have recovered 15 bodies… As per the latest figures as of 1 pm, around 65 people who were reported to have come to Gul Plaza are missing. So, in total, around 80 people (have died] in this,” Shah said while addressing a press conference earlier in the day. “There can be no price tag on a life. Their grief cannot be compensated in any way," he said.Shah said 40 per cent of the building has collapsed, adding that the rest of it was also in a poor state. “We might need to demolish the entire building,” the chief minister said.
The market, which had around 1,200 shops on all floors, has been one of Karachi’s landmarks since the early 1980s on the main MA Jinnah Road in the Saddar commercial area. Firefighters said the lack of ventilation in the building caused thick smoke to fill the mall and slowed efforts to reach people trapped inside. Gul Plaza Traders Association President Tanveer Pasta said over 40 shopkeepers and salespersons were among those missing.
In recent years, Karachi has witnessed several such incidents due to a lack of safety, inadequate firefighting systems, overloaded electrical systems and illegal constructions. In 2024, a government audit found that in 266 shopping malls and commercial buildings on major roads, only six had proper fire safety measures, with 62 per cent lacking emergency exits and 70 per cent having substandard electrical systems. In December 2024, in an adjacent building to Gul Plaza, also built in the early 1980s, fire broke out on two floors but was quickly brought under control. In 2012, at least 259 people died when a fire broke out in a garment factory in Baldia town.