Six killed in Gul Plaza fire as efforts underway to contain blaze

A third-degree fire at Gul Plaza on MA Jinnah Road in Karachi has claimed six lives, officials said, while the blaze continued to rage for several hours. Parts of the building collapsed due to the intensity of the fire.

The fire broke out on the ground floor of Gul Plaza around 10:15pm on Saturday and quickly spread up to the third floor.

Rescue sources said that six people, including a firefighter, were killed in the incident, while 20 others were injured and shifted to hospitals. The condition of several injured victims was described as critical.

Four of the deceased were identified as Faraz, Kashif, Aamir and Shahroz. Officials said that the body of firefighter Farqan was also brought to the trauma centre.

Fire brigade officials said efforts to control the blaze are ongoing with the help of 20 fire tenders and four snorkels, using water and foam. Pakistan Navy fire tenders are also engaged in firefighting operations.

Earlier, Rescue 1122 spokesperson Hassaanul Haseeb Khan also confirmed the five deaths and said around 20 people were injured in the incident. He added that by early Sunday, firefighters had managed to bring about 30 per cent of the fire under control.

Khan said that the mall houses nearly 1,200 shops selling items such as crockery, clothing, electrical goods, cosmetics and perfumes, which caused the flames to spread rapidly. He added that 20 fire tenders from various departments were taking part in efforts to put out the fire.

He warned that the building is quite old and may collapse at any time due to fire damage, adding that rescue teams are operating with extreme caution. Earlier, he said the fire started in shops on the ground floor of the building.