KARACHI — The death toll from a massive fire that engulfed a major shopping mall in Pakistan’s commercial capital of Karachi rose to 67, with 77 people still missing, as search efforts entered their seventh day on Friday, local media reported.Deputy Commissioner South Javed Nabi Khoso told reporters the search and rescue operation is in its final stage, expected to conclude on Friday, according to Geo News.The scale of the damage following the blaze, which took more than 24 hours to put out, has slowed rescue efforts, as authorities comb the remains of the 6,500sq m (70,000 sq ft) complex.While some of the bodies found are only partial remains, authorities had been able to count 67 skulls, the deputy commissioner of police said. The process to identify the bodies continues, with 15 people identified so far.Gul Plaza had housed some 1,200 shops, spread across multiple floors. It is wedding season in Karachi, often a particularly busy time of year for shoppers.While the cause of the fire is still unknown, witnesses earlier told the BBC that a lack of working fire exits and the density of shoppers and stalls crammed into the building exacerbated the disaster.Senior police official Syed Asad Raza told Reuters news agency that all but three of the centre’s 16 exits were locked. Sindh Governor Kamran Khan Tessori has called for a judicial inquiry into the fire, saying those responsible “should be identified and punished without delay.” — AgenciesKARACHI — The death toll from a massive fire that engulfed a major shopping mall in Pakistan’s commercial capital of Karachi rose to 67, with 77 people still missing, as search efforts entered their seventh day on Friday, local media reported.Deputy Commissioner South Javed Nabi Khoso told reporters the search and rescue operation is in its final stage, expected to conclude on Friday, according to Geo News.The scale of the damage following the blaze, which took more than 24 hours to put out, has slowed rescue efforts, as authorities comb the remains of the 6,500sq m (70,000 sq ft) complex.While some of the bodies found are only partial remains, authorities had been able to count 67 skulls, the deputy commissioner of police said. The process to identify the bodies continues, with 15 people identified so far.Gul Plaza had housed some 1,200 shops, spread across multiple floors. It is wedding season in Karachi, often a particularly busy time of year for shoppers.While the cause of the fire is still unknown, witnesses earlier told the BBC that a lack of working fire exits and the density of shoppers and stalls crammed into the building exacerbated the disaster.Senior police official Syed Asad Raza told Reuters news agency that all but three of the centre’s 16 exits were locked. Sindh Governor Kamran Khan Tessori has called for a judicial inquiry into the fire, saying those responsible “should be identified and punished without delay.” — Agencies
Pakistan mall fire death toll jumps to 67
