Dozens missing after massive Karachi mall fire, 21 killed

Pakistani firefighters began pulling bodies from the smouldering remains of a sprawling Karachi shopping mall on Monday, where more than 60 people were still missing after a massive fire that killed at least 21, Report informs via Reuters.

The city's biggest fire in over a decade started late on Saturday at Gul Plaza, which houses 1,200 shops in a multi-storey complex spread across an area larger than a football field. The blaze in Karachi's historic centre raged for more than 24 hours before it was mostly extinguished.

Videos showed flames ripping through the building as firefighters laboured through the night to put out the blaze. On Monday, they began cooling the structure and clearing twisted metal and debris strewn across the street, along with fallen air-conditioning units and shop signboards.

Most of the building had crumbled by Monday afternoon; cranes demolished the remaining structure amid fears it might collapse.

Hundreds of people surrounded the building as rescue teams searched for survivors, including shopowners whose life's work was reduced to ash overnight.

10:50

The death toll from a fire that broke out at a shopping mall in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi late Saturday night rose to 14, the police said on Monday, Report informs via Xinhua.

About 60 people are still missing, and search and rescue work is underway, according to local authorities.

The blaze erupted at Gul Plaza, a multi-storey shopping mall located on the MA Jinnah Road, which houses over 1,200 shops.

Officials said the cause of the fire has yet to be confirmed. Initial assessments suggested it may have been triggered by an electrical short circuit, but investigations are continuing.