Gul Plaza inferno: What we know so far

At least 14 people have lost their lives and more than 70 remain missing after a devastating fire ripped through Gul Plaza Shopping Mall at Saddar Market in Karachi’s congested business district, marking one of the city’s deadliest commercial building fires in recent years.The blaze, which erupted late Saturday night, continued to burn for over 33 hours, severely hampering rescue efforts and triggering widespread anger over alleged administrative failures.

 How the fire started?

According to fire brigade officials, the fire broke out at 10:14pm on Saturday in a shop selling artificial flowers and plastic pots. Rescue 1122 was alerted at 10:38 pm, while the first fire tenders reached the scene at 10:57pm.Within an hour, the flames spread rapidly from the ground floor to the upper storeys due to highly combustible material, poor ventilation, and the absence of emergency exits.

“When we arrived, the fire from the ground floor had already engulfed almost the entire building,” Rescue 1122 spokesperson Hassanul Haseeb Khan

Rescue operation and challenges

Firefighters battled the inferno amid extreme smoke, structural instability, and a critical water shortage. Rescuers were forced to cut windows and demolish walls with hammers to enter the building.Officials confirmed that:

• 12 fire tenders, six water bowsers and two snorkels were deployed
• Water supply ran out within 2–3 hours
• Water bowsers were stuck near Guru Mandir due to Green Line BRT construction
• Narrow access points and overcrowding further delayed response

Although 90% of the fire has been extinguished, goods inside the mall continue to smoulder, causing flare-ups that temporarily halted search operations.

Building conditions

Gul Plaza houses over 1,200 shops and has 14–16 entry and exit points, most of which were filled with thick smoke during the fire. Officials acknowledged that:

• Only ground and first-floor construction was originally approved
• Shops were operating in the basement
• The building lacked emergency exits
• Structural conditions are now extremely unsafe

Casualties and missing persons

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) South Asad Raza confirmed 14 fatalities, noting that **five bodies are beyond identification.The deceased include:

• Kashif
• Faraz
• Muhammad Aamir
•  Furqan
• Two unidentified victims

More than a dozen people were injured, including Haseeb, Waseem, Daniyal, Hamza, Fahad, Jawad, Abdullah, Usman, Zain, and others. All injured individuals have since been discharged.Authorities said that 73 people are officially listed as missing. Families of 59 individuals have contacted the police.

Traders’ outrage

Affected traders strongly criticised the Sindh government, accusing it of gross incompetence and delayed response.

“We have been reduced to zero. Twenty years of hard work is gone,” Shop owner Yasmeen Bano.

All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajiran Sindh president Jawaid Qureshi said traders were unfairly blamed despite suffering massive losses.

Government response

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah visited the site on Sunday evening, expressing sorrow over the loss of lives and economic damage. He stated that 58–60 people were still missing and promised transparent compensation for victims.Sindh government spokesperson Sadia Javed acknowledged:Water shortage due to Green Line construction Lack of emergency exits in Old City commercial buildingMayor Murtaza Wahab informed the meeting that the Karachi Water Board supplied 431,000 gallons of water to fight the fire

 Helplines

The Sindh government has set up helplines for families seeking information:Helpline numbers 0313-5048048 021-99206372 021-99205625 021-99205670 021-99201196 021-99205691

Compensation for the deceased

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has announced a compensation of Rs10 million each for the families of those who died in the Karachi Gul Plaza inferno. He also announced that the destroyed building will be rebuilt soon.Addressing a press conference in Karachi along with other officials today, CM Murad said that the Gul Plaza fire was “major incident”, and indicated that the entire building might need to be demolished due to the extent of the damage.

What is happening now

The rescue and search operation is ongoing.  The cooling of the building is underway.