KARACHI: The death toll from the Gul Plaza blaze rose to at least 21 on Monday, with Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah announcing Rs10 million in compensation for the victims’ families.
The fire had erupted in the plaza on Saturday night, destroying the basement. The building itself was a ground-plus-three-storey structure with 1,200 shops spread over 8,000 square yards.
While the fire at the mall located on M.A Jinnah Road was said to be doused after more than 24 hours on Sunday, firefighting efforts had to resume on Monday as flames reignited from the smouldering debris.
In the evening, Karachi South Deputy Inspector General Syed Asad Raza told media that 23 bodies had been recovered from the debris. He added that the body parts of some of the victims had been recovered.
The official said that police had a list of a total of 69 missing persons. “Out of this, the location of 35 missing persons was traced to the Gul Plaza with the help of modern technology,” he said.
In a statement, Rescue 1122 Chief Operating Officer (COO) Dr Abid Jalal said that while “more than 20 bodies have been recovered, the final number of dead cannot be stated at the moment”.
“Some bodies have been recovered in the form of body parts from various locations,” he said.
“Until it is determined through a technical and forensic verification whether these parts are of the same person or different people, confirming the correct number [of deaths] is difficult.”
Mohammed Shah, who was supervising Pakistan Navy’s fire brigade team at the spot, told media on Monday evening that the fire had been controlled but smoke was still emanating from the site.
Rescue 1122 spokesperson, Hassaanul Haseeb Khan told media that flames were controlled to a large extent on Sunday night, which paved the way for the cooling process. He said a search operation was initiated at three different spots.
The official said the firefighting operation was still ongoing to control flames that tended to emerge from the smouldering debris. He said a “superficial” search operation had been launched as rescuers were avoiding digging deep due to the possible presence of human bodies. Moreover, the operation to remove the debris has also started, he said.
Karachi Additional IG Azad Khan told the media gathered at the scene that no evidence had emerged thus far suggesting arson.
Inquiry committee set up; compensation announced
Meanwhile, addressing a press conference with representatives of the business community, Sindh CM Murad announced Rs10 million in compensation for each deceased person’s family.
“There can be no price tag for a person’s life. Their grief cannot be compensated in any way, but we are announcing Rs10m from the government for each person who lost their life,” the Sindh CM said, adding that the process would begin tomorrow.
“Unfortunately, there has been a considerable loss of lives in this incident,” he said. While he refrained from giving a specific number, he said that it could possible be 80.
“We are all sorrowful. We all share their grief,” the chief minister said, referring to the bereaved families.
He also announced that an inquiry committee was being set up to probe the incident, headed by Karachi Commissioner Hassan Naqvi.
He asserted that the inquiry’s aim was not to point blame but to acknowledge and correct one’s mistakes.
However, he added, “If there is any evidence of sabotage, then obviously action will be taken [although] there is no such thing as of now.”
Detailing the ongoing rescue operations, the Sindh CM said rescue personnel had carved out “three ways” to enter the building.
He said 40 per cent of the mall’s building had collapsed, adding that the rest of it was also in a poor state. “Perhaps, we might need to demolish the entire building,” he feared.
CM Murad also expressed the Sindh government’s desire to rehabilitate the affected businesses and make them functional again.
Recalling his meeting with the business community earlier in the day, he said they discussed the short-term and long-term plan of action.
The chief minister recalled the fire incidents at Bolton Market in 2009 — where the federal government’s aid was also sought — and at Timber Market in 2014, where traders were compensated.
In the long-term, CM Murad said, local disaster management authorities will be strengthened and equipped better.
He went on to identify one of the problems, saying that the rescue authorities were not able to “perform their duties freely” and requesting “everyone not to provide their expertise”.
“All of us sitting in this room were involved in that hindrance,” the chief minister said, adding that officials could have inefficiencies.
Responding to a question, he said, “There was a [shortage] of water and there were some difficulties […] I do not want to elaborate [but] the difficulties were that people had blocked the routes, which I also hold myself accountable for.”
Stressing that the authorities were trying to account for the missing, CM Murad said, “I request each institution that considers it has the expertise to help us, to support us.”
Taking note of suggestions to seek external help, the chief minister said, “One does not need to call at such occasions. [They] need to come forward on their own.”
CM Murad vows to rehabilitate affected traders
During his press conference, CM Murad detailed that a separate committee had been formed to assess traders’ losses and make recommendations regarding businesses’ rehabilitation.
The committee includes Zubair Motiwala, Jawed Bilwani, Idress Memon, Junaid Makda and Rehan Hanif.
The chief minister said it was decided to allocate a space temporarily to the affected businesses.
The Sindh CM said shopkeepers’ associations will be asked to install fire alarms, stressing that the first “one to two hours” after a fire occurs were crucial.
Prior to the press conference, CM Murad had held a meeting with representatives of the traders’ community where he vowed to immediately rehabilitate the affected businesses.
“We will reconstruct the building of Gul Plaza,” he announced, according to a statement from his spokesperson Abdul Rasheed Channa.
“The Sindh government will have a forensic report conducted so the cause of the fire can be known,” CM Murad said, adding that the chief secretary would notify the fact-finding committee.
Highlighting that President Asif Ali Zardari and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari were repeatedly contacting him about the incident, the chief minister said, “The PPP leadership wants the traders of Gul Plaza to be rehabilitated urgently.”
Local Government Minister Nasir Hussain Shah said the restoration efforts would be undertaken with the advice of the traders.
Commissioner Naqvi informed the meeting that the death toll could surge to over 50. CM Murad, after being told that the cooling process was underway, ordered that the work to clear the rubble be initiated right away.
Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab briefed the chief minister that 16 fire tenders and bowsers were involved in the dousing operations, in which “50 to 60” firefighters participated.
He further said that the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) had provided tankers and 431,000 gallons of water for the fire-extinguishing operations.
CM’s aide Giyan Chand Essarani informed the meeting that the blaze erupted at 10:36pm on January 17, adding that Rescue 1122 ambulances reached the site within six minutes.
He further said that a total of 24 fire rescue vehicles took part in the operations, including those of KMC and the Pakistan Navy.
Scores missing
The Sindh government also established a helpline to report anyone missing due to the fire or to direct their queries, which can be contacted at 0313-5048048, 021-99206372 and 021-99205625.
Gul Plaza Traders Association President Tanveer Pasta said over 40 shopkeepers and salespersons were among those missing in the wake of the incident.
Meanwhile, Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori, who visited the site of the incident on Monday, told the media that “more than 70 people” remained missing. DIG Raza stated the same figure.
“The reports of more than 70 missing persons are extremely alarming and constitute a major tragedy,” said the governor, adding that the incident has now “turned into a national tragedy”.
“Information about a pregnant woman being trapped inside is extremely concerning,” he said.
He further stated that while determining the cause of the fire is necessary, the priority for now is to save lives. “I am in constant contact with three major builders of the city for the restoration of the market,” he added, elaborating on efforts to provide relief to traders.
Tessori vowed to “stand with the affected people” until their losses are fully compensated.
“My cousin was inside,” said Raheel Ibrahim about Naveed Juma, who he said used to work at a shop on Gul Plaza’s first floor.
“His phone was ringing till 12am [on Saturday] but he did not receive calls,” he said, adding that his cousin’s phone was unreachable afterwards.
“Till now there is no news of him,” Ibrahim said, adding that his 43-year-old cousin had three young daughters.
Another elderly man from the Metroville area said his daughter, daughter-in-law and sister had come to the mall for shopping on Saturday.
“We have had no contact with them after 8pm that night,” he added.
The distraught man lamented, “Wherever we go, they push us away like a football that ‘ask so and so, we do not know anything’.”
Noting that some bodies were unidentifiable and needed DNA samples for cross-matching, the man said he was being told that details about that process would take two to three days.
Traffic police announce alternate routes
In an advisory by the Karachi Traffic Police, the portion of M.A. Jinnah Road from Tibet Centre to Garden Chowk is closed to traffic due to ongoing rescue and recovery operations at Gul Plaza.
The traffic police advised that commuters heading towards Tower from Numaish should turn right at Capri and proceed via Saddar Dawakhana, Empress Market, Regal, Burns Road, or Fresco Chowk, then take the route from Dilpasand to M.A. Jinnah Road to reach Tower.
Commuters heading towards M.A. Jinnah Road or Mazar-i-Quaid from Fresco Chowk should continue straight towards Regal Market, turn right at Empress Market towards Frere Chowk, and then proceed to M.A. Jinnah Road.
‘Heartbroken’
United Kingdom’s High Commissioner to Pakistan Jane Marriot said she was “heartbroken” by the tragic fire at the shopping plaza.
“May strength be with the community at this time,” she said.
The Turkish Embassy in Islamabad said it was “deeply saddened”.
“The Turkish Embassy stands in solidarity with friendly and brotherly people of Pakistan in this difficult time,” it said, conveying condolences to the bereaved families.
The Russian Embassy also expressed its “heartfelt condolences and profound sorrow” over the fire incident, as well as the recent Sargodha and Ormara traffic accidents.
The German Consulate in Karachi, in a post on X, said the incident at Gul Plaza was deeply saddening. “Our thoughts & prayers are with the victims, their families, and those injured.”
The French embassy in Pakistan expressed “profound sorrow over the loss of many lives in the devastating fire”.
“We offer our sincere condolences to the bereaved families and stand with the people of Pakistan in this moment of grief,” the embassy said on X.
‘Delayed response’
The terrifying fire that erupted at Gul Plaza on Saturday night could have been contained sooner, but the delayed response and limited resources from the authorities allowed the blaze to rage unchecked for hours.
Traders and area residents said that timely action from the Saddar Fire Station, other civic bodies, and local officials could have saved lives and livelihoods, yet the firefighting operation only picked up in full force early Sunday.
Shopkeepers at the site told media that if the firefighting team had arrived with full force and resources, the scene would probably look very different.
One shopkeeper pointed out that the Saddar Fire Station is only a few minutes away, yet no timely action was taken.
A local resident said they were repeatedly told on Saturday night that there was a shortage of water, which hampered the operation.
People criticised the Sindh government and the Karachi mayor, questioning where the mayor and provincial ministers were during the crisis. They also highlighted that the condition of M.A. Jinnah Road makes it extremely difficult to position even two water bowsers side by side.
Additional input by Asim Khan
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