26 Bodies Recovered From Karachi Shopping Plaza Fire, Dozens Still Missing

NEW DELHI, Jan 20 (Bernama) -- Twenty-six bodies have been recovered from the burnt-out Gul Plaza shopping complex in Pakistan's Karachi city, while dozens remain missing.

It took 200 firefighters more than 24 hours to extinguish the blaze, which broke out on Saturday night, at the multi-storey plaza that housed about 1,200 shops and employed around 4,500.

Sindh province's chief minister Murad Ali Shah, on Monday announced 10 million rupees (RM144,738) in compensation for each family of the deceased.

Sixty-five people remained unaccounted for, according to one local media report.

The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation started removing the debris from Gul Plaza after the fire was put out.

The tragedy has deeply shaken Pakistan's cosmopolitan megacity and vibrant commercial capital.

Many residents who gathered near the site blamed poor enforcement of building safety laws and inadequate firefighting measures for the inferno that engulfed all levels of the complex.

An inquiry is underway, and those found negligent will be held accountable, Sindh government spokesman Nadir Nabil Gabol told a television channel.

He criticised what he described as “intense encroachment” and mismanagement at the plaza.

-- BERNAMA