Search Operation Continues at Karachi’s Gul Plaza as Death Toll Rises to 28

KARACHI: Search and recovery operations continued on Wednesday at Karachi’s Gul Plaza following a devastating fire that has claimed at least 28 lives, with medical authorities confirming the identification of three more victims through DNA testing.

The blaze broke out late on Saturday night, engulfing the commercial plaza and causing parts of the structure to collapse. Gul Plaza, a ground-plus-three-storey building, housed around 1,200 shops and covered an area of approximately 8,000 square yards. Firefighters and rescue teams have been working around the clock to sift through debris amid lingering smoke and hazardous conditions.

According to a statement issued by the Edhi Foundation, three of the 21 previously unidentified bodies at the Edhi morgue have now been identified using DNA samples. The identified victims include a 15-year-old girl and two adult men, while efforts are ongoing to establish the identities of the remaining bodies.

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Police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed told Dawn that the confirmed death toll had reached 28. She said that the deceased included at least five women and that post-mortem examinations were conducted on “fragmentary human remains,” highlighting the intensity of the fire and the challenges faced during forensic identification.

On Tuesday, a large number of people gathered near the site, prompting law enforcement agencies to erect temporary barriers to restrict access and maintain order. Smoke was still visible rising from the rubble, underscoring the scale of the destruction and the ongoing risks at the scene.

Meanwhile, the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) rejected reports suggesting that official records of Gul Plaza were missing. In a statement issued a day earlier, the authority termed such claims “baseless and contrary to facts,” asserting that all approved records related to the building were intact and available.

According to the SBCA, Gul Plaza was originally constructed in 1979, with a revised plan approved in 1998. The project was later regularised in 2003 under the Regularisation Amendment Ordinance 2001. A revised no-objection certificate (NOC) for sale and advertisement was issued in 2005, approving a total of 1,102 shops across different floors.

The authority also detailed the building’s emergency infrastructure, stating that it had multiple staircases and 16 exit routes on the ground floor. However, South DIG Asad Raza told Dawn that 14 of these exits were closed at the time of the fire, raising serious concerns about safety compliance.

Reiterating its stance, the SBCA said it fully rejected any notion of concealing facts and pledged complete cooperation with investigators. “A fact-based report will be presented to determine responsibility,” the authority said, as families of victims continue to seek answers amid one of Karachi’s deadliest commercial building fires in recent years.