Gul Plaza fire: death toll hits 60 as more than 20 bodies found in one shop

KARACHI: The death toll from the wrecking fire at Karachi’s Gul Plaza has risen to 60 after rescue workers recovered the bodies of at least 20 people from a single shop during ongoing search operations.

Rescuers combing through the debris on Wednesday discovered between 20 and 25 bodies from a shop named Dubai Crockery, located on the mezzanine floor of the building, City Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Arif Aziz confirmed the recovery.

Karachi South Deputy Commissioner Javed Nabi Khoso said that the number of bodies or remains retrieved from the plaza had reached 60.

Talking to the media, DC Khoso said many of the victims’ bodies were badly burned and reduced to remains, making immediate identification impossible. Some of the remains are believed to belong to children. He added that the exact number of victims would be confirmed after DNA analysis is completed by the medicolegal team.

Khoso said that preliminary data suggests around 50 per cent of the victims were shopkeepers. He explained that rescuers focused primarily on recovery efforts, collecting as much information as possible under difficult conditions, and detailed records would be shared once verification was complete.

Earlier, the Edhi Foundation had reported the recovery of a 29th body, though officials had at that time not confirmed a final death toll.

A resident, Rasheed, told Dawn that Dubai Crockery had announced a wedding-season sale and remained open until 2 am on the night of the fire, despite usually closing at 10 pm. This may have contributed to the high number of casualties inside the shop.

The fire broke out late Saturday night at the plaza on MA Jinnah Road. Although authorities said the blaze was extinguished after more than 24 hours on Sunday, firefighters had to return on Monday after flames reignited from smouldering debris. Parts of the building later collapsed due to structural damage caused by the fire.

Gul Plaza was a ground-plus-three-storey commercial building housing around 1,200 shops over an area of 8,000 square yards. On Tuesday, large crowds gathered near the site as smoke continued to rise from the rubble, prompting law enforcement to erect temporary barriers to keep people away.

Rescue and recovery operations are ongoing as authorities work to determine the full scale of the tragedy.