Nearly 50 people trapped inside the mall on the city’s busy artery have been rescued, fire brigade officials say.
KARACHI: Huge fire erupted in a multi-storey shopping mall on Karachi’s Rashid Minhas Road, eleven people have died on the spot, on Saturday.
Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab has confirmed the number of casualties taking to his X, formerly Twitter, account.
“KMC Fire Department has so far confirmed that there have been 9 casualties in the fire incident,” he wrote, further informing about the number of bodies shifted to different hospitals in the city.
“Search process still continues,” he added in the post.
According to fire brigade officials, nearly 50 people trapped inside the RJ shopping mall on the city’s busy artery have been rescued in the rescue operation involving two snorkels, eight fire tenders and a bowser.
A spokesperson for the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC) said they received nine bodies, while a rescue official said one body each was shifted to the Civil Hospital and Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.
Officials said that more people are still there and efforts are being made to bring them to safety. The officials added that fire at the shopping centre has been brought under control, while the cooling process is currently underway on one of the floors.
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The fire that broke out at around 7am on the second floor engulfed the fourth, fifth and sixth floors of the shopping mall, but it was not clear what caused it.
The injured have been shifted to a nearby healthcare facility for treatment. Six of those injured are in critical condition, officials said.
Rauf Hamid, who was rescued from the building, told Geo News many people are still trapped.
“When the fire broke out, we saved ourselves by rushing towards a safe room. The smoke was so intense that we didn’t understand what was happening.”
CM Baqar takes notice
Sindh Caretaker Chief Minister Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqar has expressed regret over the loss of life in the wake of the deadly fire.
The chief minister has ordered urgent measures to control the fire and has asked for the injured to be provided immediate medical aid.
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