In a grim development following a catastrophic weekend fire, rescue officials in Pakistan's largest city have made a harrowing discovery. Dozens of body parts, believed to belong to more than a dozen individuals, have been recovered from the charred remains of a shopping plaza in Karachi, dramatically increasing the potential death toll from the blaze.
Discovery in Refuge Shop Raises Alarm
For the first time since the fire erupted on Saturday, search teams managed to access a specific shop within Gul Plaza where numerous people had reportedly sought shelter as the flames spread. This shop, which had previously been inaccessible, yielded the devastating collection of remains.
Before this discovery, the confirmed death toll stood at 29, according to police surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed. She verified that the city's primary hospital received more than two dozen body parts on Wednesday, marking the fifth day of intensive search operations.
Official Estimates and Pending Confirmation
Government administrator Javed Nabi Khoso provided a chilling initial assessment, stating that the remains recovered from the single shop likely belong to between 15 and 25 people. "This is the first time such a large number of remains have been found in one location since the fire," he remarked, underscoring the scale of the find.
Senior rescue official Abid Jamal Sheikh echoed this sentiment, confirming that the body parts could indeed belong to more than a dozen individuals. However, he emphasised that official confirmation through forensic examination is still pending, and the precise number of victims remains uncertain.
Investigation into the Blaze's Cause
The exact cause of the devastating fire is still under active investigation. Preliminary reports from police suggest that a short circuit may have triggered the inferno, though a full technical analysis is ongoing to determine the definitive origin.
Community Mourns as First Funeral Held
Amid the ongoing recovery efforts, the community began the painful process of mourning. On Wednesday, dozens of grief-stricken mourners attended the first funeral for a victim of the fire, that of Shahroz Iqbal, a shop owner who perished in the blaze.
History of Deadly Fires in Karachi
This tragedy adds to Karachi's long and distressing history of deadly fires, often attributed to a combination of poor safety standards, weak regulatory enforcement, and widespread illegal construction practices.
In a similar incident in November 2023, a fire at a local mall claimed 10 lives and left 22 others injured. One of Pakistan's most catastrophic industrial disasters occurred in 2012, when a garment factory fire killed at least 260 workers, highlighting persistent systemic failures in fire safety and building regulations.
The discovery of these remains has cast a renewed spotlight on the urgent need for improved safety protocols and stricter enforcement in commercial and residential buildings across the city to prevent such tragedies in the future.
