Society News

Karachi's Gul Plaza fire: toll climbs from 6 to 67 as fragments of remains are found

A fire that broke out at 10:36pm on Saturday, January 17, at Gul Plaza, a ground-plus-three-storey mall with about 1,200 shops on M.A. Jinnah Road in Karachi, Pakistan, has become one of the city's deadliest. On Thursday, January 22, officials confirmed 67 deaths, up from 34, after the remains of dozens more people were found, The Associated Press reported. Most remains were found in fragments, making identification very difficult.

The count rose step by step. Al Jazeera reported at least six dead on January 18 and said initial police findings pointed to a short circuit in one shop. Pakistan's Dawn reported on January 19 that part of the building had collapsed, about 40% by the Sindh chief minister's estimate, and that Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab put the number of missing at 65. AP, in a report carried by PBS NewsHour, said firefighters put out the blaze late Sunday, nearly 24 hours after it began, and that it spread rapidly through shops storing cosmetics, clothing and plastics. A firefighter was among the dead.

“A national tragedy.” — Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori, via Dawn

How each outlet framed it

• Dawn — local detail: missing counts, compensation, and traders angry at a delayed emergency response.
• Al Jazeera — the first hours, the partial collapse and the suspected short circuit.
• AP / PBS NewsHour — Karachi's record of fires blamed on poor safety standards and illegal construction, including a 2012 factory fire that killed 260.

Where the numbers differ: estimates of the missing ranged from 46 (the city police chief, January 19) and 65 (the mayor) to about 70 (the Sindh government). The province offered 10 million rupees, about $36,000, to each bereaved family.

What we don't know yet: the confirmed cause; an inquiry committee and a forensic report have been ordered.