Death toll in Karachi’s Gul Plaza fire rises to 27, dozens still missing

The death toll from a devastating fire at Karachi’s Gul Plaza shopping mall climbed to 27 on Tuesday as rescue teams continued search and clearance operations inside the severely damaged building, with more than 80 people still reported missing.

Police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed told local media that 27 bodies have so far been taken to the Civil Hospital Karachi. She said DNA samples from around 50 families of missing persons have been collected for profiling and cross-matching to help identify victims.

The blaze, described as Karachi’s largest fire in more than a decade, broke out late Saturday at Gul Plaza, a sprawling multi-storey commercial complex housing around 1,200 shops in the city’s historic centre. Firefighters battled the inferno for over 24 hours before bringing it under control.

According to Syed, the list of missing persons currently stands at 81, though some names were duplicated, with 74 individuals confirmed as missing. She said samples have been taken from 14 bodies so far, with the identification of seven victims completed. DNA samples from both the bodies and relatives have been sent to the Sindh Forensic DNA Laboratory, while further testing will be conducted at the International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences at the University of Karachi.

Separately, Karachi South Deputy Commissioner Javed Nabi Khoso said rescue teams have cleared the ground and first floors of the building. He added that operations were ongoing on the upper levels, with teams attempting to access the second and third floors by cutting through metal grills.

Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori, speaking to a delegation of traders affected by the fire, proposed relocating them to a nearby parking plaza that he said was currently lying vacant. “We must learn from this tragedy,” the governor said, adding that the construction of unsafe commercial buildings in the city must be halted.

The incident also drew attention in parliament, where Pakistan Peoples Party lawmaker Shehla Raza acknowledged serious management failures at the site. She told the National Assembly that 24 of the mall’s 26 gates were closed at the time of the fire, complicating evacuation and rescue efforts. Raza also outlined the building’s history, noting that Gul Plaza was constructed in 1980 and later modified to add shops in parking areas and corridors.

Meanwhile, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) legislator Farooq Sattar called for the incident to be declared a national tragedy and urged the formation of an investigation committee. He also demanded the revival of the Department of Civil Defence and greater priority for Karachi in national policies.

Search and identification efforts remain ongoing as authorities continue to assess the full scale of the tragedy.