A fire broke out in Karachi’s RJ shopping mall on Rashid Minhas road, causing the death of 10 people so far. The incident took place early on Saturday.
Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab has confirmed the number of casualties and injured, taking to his X (formerly Twitter) account. He also confirmed that the fire has been extinguished, while the cooling process is underway.
Fire had been extinguished & cooling process is going on. I can so far confirm 10 casualties & 22 persons have been injured https://t.co/x3I873U7fG
— Murtaza Wahab Siddiqui (@murtazawahab1) November 25, 2023
A statement from the Fire and Rescue spokesperson said they were alerted about the incident at 6:30am, after which eight fire tenders, two snorkels and two bowsers were sent to the location.
Earlier, police surgeon Summaiya Syed told Dawn that nine bodies have been brought to hospitals — eight at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) and one at Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK). Wahab said one was also brought to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.
She further said that an 18-year-old was currently admitted at CHK.
District East Deputy Commissioner (DC) Altaf Shaikh, who was personally supervising the rescue operation, said 30 others, including the wounded, were rescued, reported Dawn.
Experts say around 12,000 to 15,000 people die in hundreds of fire incidents in the country every year. More than 90% of the industries, residential buildings, and structures in Karachi, which is the largest industrial hub of Pakistan, lacked fire safety arrangements as building codes were not being implemented by the authorities concerned, Geo reported citing experts.
