Gul Plaza fire: How a deadly inferno exposed Karachi’s safety failures

Islamabad, Pakistan – A fire that tore through a shopping centre over the weekend in Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi, has killed at least 23 people, including a firefighter, as rescuers race to find dozens more still missing.

The city’s biggest fire in more than a decade broke out late on Saturday at Gul Plaza, a three-storey commercial building home to more than 1,200 shops selling a wide range of goods. It took more than 24 hours to fully extinguish the blaze.

City authorities said parts of the building have collapsed and debris and poor ventilation are severely hampering rescue efforts.

Mayor Murtaza Wahab said a formal inquiry would be launched into the fire under the supervision of the city’s commissioner.

Speaking to a private news channel on Monday night, Wahab confirmed that more than 60 people remained missing and the search operation is ongoing after the firefighting operation has been completed. “Fire flares up again during the cooling process,” he said, describing one of the challenges faced by emergency personnel.

Wahab also said the government of Sindh, the province where Karachi is located, has announced compensation of 10 million rupees ($35,000) for each family that has lost a loved one in the tragedy.

The Gul Plaza fire is the latest in a series of major incidents in Karachi, Pakistan’s commercial hub and home to nearly 25 million people.

Here, we look at what is known about what happened at Gul Plaza, why rescue efforts have been so difficult and what lies behind Karachi’s persistent fire safety challenges.

What happened at Gul Plaza?

Located in Karachi’s historic Saddar area along one of the city’s main arteries, MA Jinnah Road, Gul Plaza is a well-known business centre. Its shops sell jewellery, household items, carpets, bags, crockery and other goods.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said the building was packed on Saturday night during the wedding season, a factor that contributed to the high death toll.

More than 72 hours after the fire broke out, officials have yet to confirm its cause. Police officials said on the night of the blaze that it may have been triggered by a short circuit.

Sindh Police Inspector General Javed Alam Odho said it appeared the fire was caused by a circuit breaker but stressed that “nothing definitive can be said about this at this time.”

Namra Khalid, a Karachi-based urban researcher, said a detailed investigation is needed before conclusions can be drawn.

“However, I think the main concern should be about what allowed the fire to become so big at such a rapid pace,” Khalid told Al Jazeera. “Fires can start anywhere, but what structural, systemic failures allowed it to spread at such scale, and why such failures are allowing repeated fires in the city at an unimaginable scale?”

Why did rescue efforts take so long?

Rescue officials said the operation to recover those still missing is still being conducted because the size of the building and the extent of the damage mean they must proceed cautiously.

Officials told local media that much of the structure has collapsed and what remains may have to be demolished due to severe structural damage.

Hassan ul-Haseeb, a spokesperson for the provincial rescue service Rescue 1122, said access to the site was a major challenge on the night of the fire.

“On the one hand, the road was narrow, and on the other hand, a large number of people were there just to watch the spectacle, due to which the entire road was blocked and water tankers had difficulty finding their way there,” he told Al Jazeera.

Ul-Haseeb added that the materials inside the plaza, including large amounts of plastic, caused the fire to repeatedly flare up despite sustained efforts by firefighters, prolonging the operation.

He said people on the ground floor were able to escape using the building’s 13 entry and exit points. Many of those trapped on the upper floors, however, were unable to find their way out, leading to multiple deaths.