At Least 6 Dead, Dozens Injured in Shopping Mall Fire in Pakistan
Published by RawNews1st
At around 10:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, Jan. 17, officials received a call about a fire at the Gul Plaza in Karachi, Pakistan, Reuters and the Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported.
The fire broke out shortly before the call was placed, starting on the ground floor of the mall before spreading, burning more than 1,200 shops, according to a translated report from the Sindh Government that was shared on Facebook.
“When we arrived, the fire from the ground floor had spread to the upper floors, and almost the entire building was already engulfed in flames,” Pakistan Emergency Services Department (Rescue 122) spokesperson Hassanul Haseeb told Reuters.
Six deaths have been confirmed so far, the government confirmed. The identities of the deceased have yet to be officially confirmed by authorities.
The fire appeared to have been caused by a “short circuit” at one of the shops in the mall, Sindh Inspector General Javed Alam Odho told reporters at the scene, per Dawn.
“The layout and construction of this market was such, and secondly, the nature of the items in it — such as carpets, blankets and other objects [were] made of resins — so the fire is still simmering because of these,” said Odho.
