Edhi says more body parts recovered from Gul Plaza debris, death toll now above 30; search operation continues

KARACHI: The search operation at Gul Plaza continued on Wednesday after a devastating fire, with the Edhi rescue service estimating that the death toll from the blaze had exceeded 30.

Edhi said in a statement that its rescue personnel had found “parts of more than one body” from the debris and taken them to Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital. The total number of deaths in the incident was now more than 30, the statement said.

Earlier today, rescue personnel recovered another body from the debris, confirming the 29th death. The earlier statement by Edhi confirmed the recovery and added that the body was transferred to Civil Hospital.

Medical authorities also identified three more bodies today. According to a statement by Edhi, three of the 21 unidentified bodies at the Edhi morgue were identified. The remains belong to a 15-year-old girl and two men.

The bodies were identified using DNA samples, the statement added.

The fire had erupted at the Gul Plaza on Saturday night. While the fire at the mall located on MA Jinnah Road was said to be doused after more than 24 hours on Sunday, firefighting efforts had to resume on Monday as flames reignited from the smouldering debris.

The plaza, parts of which collapsed due to the blaze, was a ground-plus-three-storey building with 1,200 shops spread over 8,000 square yards.

On Tuesday, a large crowd gathered at the scene, with law enforcement creating temporary barriers to prevent people from approaching the plaza. Smoke could still be seen emanating from the building’s rubble.

Jacketing at Rimpa Plaza

According to the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), a part of the structure of Rimpa Plaza — another shopping mall adjacent to Gul Plaza — has also been affected due to continued exposure to heat and fire.

SBCA Director General Muzammil Halepota told Dawn today that three floors of the 13-storey building had been affected, and an SBCA technical committee visited the site on Tuesday.

They found that two pillars had been weakened and the SBCA suggested jacketing to strengthen the pillars by adding a layer of steel supports around them.

“An SBCA team has started the process,” Halepota said, adding that a notice had also been issued to the owners of Rimpa Plaza regarding the pillars’ repair.

All Gul Plaza records available, SBCA maintains

The SBCA, a day earlier, also rejected reports that the building records for the shopping mall were not available, deeming them “baseless and contrary to facts”.

“The impression being given that the records of Gul Plaza are not available with the SBCA is incorrect,” the authority said in a statement. It said that all approved records related to Gul Plaza, including sanctioned plans, completion plans, and construction details, were “preserved and available with the authority”.

According to the SCBA, the building was originally constructed in 1979, while a revised plan was approved in 1998.

“Thereafter, under the Regularisation Amendment Ordinance 2001, the project was duly regularised in 2003 in accordance with the prescribed rules and regulations,” SCBA said.

“A revised no-objection certificate (NOC) for sale and advertisement was issued in 2005, under which approval was granted for 175 shops in the basement, 355 shops on the ground floor, 188 shops on the first floor, 193 shops on the second floor, and 191 shops on the third floor, making a total of 1,102 approved shops.”

The SCBA added that the building had two staircases from the basement to the ground floor, six staircases from the ground floor to the first floor, five staircases from the second floor to the third floor, and 16 exit routes on the ground floor for emergencies.

It is worth noting that South DIG Asad Raza told Dawn that out of the 16 exits, 14 were closed at the time of the fire.

“The SBCA clarifies that it completely rejects any notion of concealing facts or disappearance of records,” the statement read, maintaining that all legal and technical records related to Gul Plaza were available with the body.

“The SBCA believes in full cooperation and transparent investigations, and a fact-based report will be presented to determine responsibility,” the statement added.

In a more recent development today, Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori met a delegation led by Gul Plaza President Tanveer Pasta and Karachi Chamber of Commerce’s Javed Balwani.

A statement issued by the governor’s office said Pasta appreciated Tessori’s efforts for the “timely rescue operation and effective measures” after the fire erupted at Gul Plaza and thanked him for “raising his voice for the victims” of the tragedy at every forum.

“During the meeting, Tanveer Pasta agreed, in principle, with the recommendations of the Sindh governor and Karachi Chamber of Commerce,” the statement said, without elaborating on the said recommendations.

Karachi Commissioner Syed Hassan Naqvi visited Gul Plaza today. Speaking to the media at the site, he said the inquiry of the incident was a very complicated one as it had multiple angles.

He said the matter would have to be probed from all angles, and the inquiry committee would try to make “long-term and far-reaching recommendations” to the government.