KARACHI (National Times) The death toll of Karachi’s Gul Plaza blaze crossed 70 on Friday as rescuers found more remains from the rubble of the gutted shopping centre.

Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed issued an updated list of 71 deceased. Of the 16 identified so far, nine were identified through DNA tests, which have been performed for 49 samples.

The deadly inferno, which erupted on the night of January 17 at the mall and took nearly two days to be fully extinguished, has left the ground-plus-three-storey building in ruins, with some sections collapsed.

As more bodies were recovered from different parts of the building, officials cautioned that the final toll can only be determined once the identification of the remains is completed.

Meanwhile, officials expressed the hope to complete their search efforts on Friday.

South Deputy Commissioner (DC) Javed Nabi Khoso told reporters that the search operation was in the “final stages”. “The search in the wreckage will be completed today,” he said.

Stating that a total of 77 missing persons had been reported, he said the recovery efforts were being made under the supervision of the Sindh Building and Control Authority’s (SBCA) team.
The director general (DG) of Sindh Rescue 1122, Brigadier (retd) Wajid Sibghatullah Mahar, said rescue personnel were to continue their recovery efforts in “10 to 15 per cent” of the building’s area that they had been unable to access before.

“There are some concerns that we have not been able to reach the ground floor, where the fire erupted. We hope to find bodies from there,” the Rescue 1122 DG told the media.

Defending Rescue 1122’s efforts, Mahar asserted that the teams had modern equipment, the inferno had turned into a third-degree fireby the time rescue personnel reached the site.

The official further said that 15 to 20 people were rescued and evacuated when the blaze erupted.

“Either the fire safety system was not present in the building, or it was not activated,” Mahar said. He revealed that the latest technology had been used over the past three days to aid the search process, in order to locate any individual who survived the blaze.

The Rescue 1122 DG added that based on the information so far, the fire erupted in a flower shop, from where it spread through the duct. However, he added, the police were still investigating why the fire spread quickly.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah also briefed the provincial assembly on the incident on Friday, with Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab in attendance.

Recalling that Rs10 million had been announced for the family of each deceased individual, CM Murad said the required funds have been released and handed over to the Karachi commissioner for distribution.

About the committee formed to estimate the losses faced by the businesses at Gul Plaza, he said the Sindh Assembly would compensate the affected people.

The Sindh CM announced Rs500,000 in “immediate” financial assistance for the 1,102 shops approved by the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) at Gul Plaza, and if any others had any proper documentation.

“This is for their sustenance so that they can stand back on their feet, as the rest of the programme can take two to three months,” he noted.
The chief minister further revealed that after some ministers’ efforts, 500 shops were made available in one building and 350 in another, whose owners have said they will not take any rent for one year.

“My effort is to make arrangements for them (shop occupants/renters) to get makeshift shops for two years,” Murad said.

He went on to announce that the Sindh government, through the Sindh Enterprise Development Fund, would arrange the “security/collateral” for the affected people and pay the interest if someone wanted Rs10m in loans.

The Sindh CM said Gul Plaza would likely be demolished and then rebuilt, with each shop getting the same area size it previously had. He added that the Sindh government would aim to reconstruct them within two years.

The chief minister also stated that an audit will be conducted and non-compliant buildings would be given a “brief period” to comply, failing which they would be sealed.

He further said that he has directed the provincial law minister to draft legislation for making insurance mandatory.
CM Murad informed the Sindh Assembly that the fire erupted at a ground-floor shop at 10:14pm on January 17, with the first call received by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) from a shop owner’s son.
The first fire brigade was dispatched at 10:27pm from a fire station near the Civil Hospital Karachi, Murad said, adding that Rescue 1122 received the first call at 10:36pm. “We have also verified these records through CCTV.”

The Sindh CM said that he has issued directives to a minister to register a first information report (FIR) of the incident based on the information so far.

“Whoever is responsible for this will be punished,” he vowed, adding that he was withholding some details for now.

“Wherever government institutions have any negligence, they will get punishment accordingly […] including me, if I have been negligent.”

The chief minister also noted that people had gathered at the site in large numbers despite being told not to when the rescue operation began.

During his address, CM Murad also took a jibe at those “politicising” the incident and bringing up the topic of the 18th Amendment — an apparent reference to remarks made by leaders of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P).
At this point, Jamaat-i-Islami MPA Muhammad Farooq interrupted the chief minister’s speech, at which Sindh Assembly Speaker Syed Awais Qadir Shah repeatedly asked the former to sit down or leave the hall.

Later during his speech, the chief minister asserted, “They do not understand the Constitution […] Where is it written that the Centre can control any part of a province? There is no such thing.”

The chief minister also went into the history of Gul Plaza, noting that the then-Karachi Municipal Committee had transferred the place in the name of the East India Company in 1884. In the 1980s, the building was sold with the then-Karachi Building Control Authority approving the plans for it.

Pointing out that the 99-year lease was not renewed as due in 1983, the Sindh CM said it was finally renewed in 1991 — “after the building had been constructed”.

“Who was the Karachi mayor on 28/9/1991 who approved the lease before the 18th Amendment?” Murad asked, adding that it was Farooq Sattar. He also noted that an ordinance was passed in 2001, followed by the regularisation of shops with the mayor’s approval in 2003.
Separately, Sindh Governor Kamran Khan Tessori visited the residence of firefighter Furqan Ali, who was also killed in the incident, to offer condolences to the bereaved family and expressed profound grief and sorrow. According to a press release, the governor prayed for the elevation of the martyr’s ranks and for patience and strength for the family.

Talking to the media, Tessori said that the nation would never forget Ali’s sacrifice.

“The governor announced that a formal recommendation will be sent to the president of Pakistan and the federal cabinet for awarding a civil award (Sitara-i-Imtiaz) to martyred firefighter Furqan Ali,” he said.

He further announced that the martyr’s widow would be provided a residential plot in a Smart City project, with construction to be completed by the builder.

Governor Sindh also announced that, in memory of Ali, the road in front of his residence would be named after him.

He also asserted that a transparent judicial inquiry into the incident was essential. He said that the victims’ families were still awaiting DNA reports, while thousands of families had been deprived of their livelihoods due to the tragedy.

He stressed that the blame game must stop and those responsible for negligence must be punished. He added that he is writing a letter to the Supreme Court, requesting a transparent judicial inquiry into the Gul Plaza tragedy, the handout said.