Rescue workers clearing Karachi inferno ruins, 57 missing feared dead

Police have said most of the missing are feared dead and rescue workers are trying to locate bodies in the debris

Fire department workers walk past the site, following a massive fire that broke out in the Gul Plaza Shopping Mall in Karachi, Pakistan, Jan 20, 2026. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro

Firefighters were clearing the charred ruins of a Karachi mall on Tuesday as they tried to locate nearly 60 people still missing and feared dead after a fire that burned for nearly two days and killed 27 people.

The Pakistani port city's largest fire in over a decade began late on Saturday and quickly spread through the sprawling Gul Plaza shopping complex, famous for its 1,200 family-owned stores that sold wedding clothes, toys, crockery and much else.

Firefighters battled the flames, which unleashed an inferno inside the once-imposing structure, larger than a football field, throughout the night. By the time the flames were brought under control, Gul Plaza was reduced to a pile of ash and debris.

Safiya said her grandson Churchill, 25, had been working at the family's shop on Saturday. When he did not return home at night, she started to worry but only heard about the fire the next morning.

"We've been here since Sunday morning. What's the point of it all? My young kid! What should we do?" the 77-year-old said, holding back tears. "We haven’t heard anything. We’ve been sitting here day and night."

Police surgeon Summaiya Syed said 27 people were killed in the fire. Rizwan Ahmed from the Rescue 1122 group said a total of 84 people were registered missing, including the number of fatalities.

Police have said most of the missing are feared dead and rescue workers were trying to locate bodies in the debris.

CHARITY DRIVE

Local charities have set up tents providing food, water and medical assistance to rescue workers as well as the scores of shop owners and grieving families gathered around the ruins.

One 50-year-old charity worker from the Banoria Welfare Foundation said it was sourcing gloves, masks and lights for rescue workers to help them sift through the debris.

"We start by providing tea and cake in the morning, and we supply water 24 hours a day," Hasib Ullah Khan told Reuters.

Relief workers were still pulling human remains from the debris, bringing them out in white cotton sheets turned into makeshift sacks before sending them onward for DNA testing.

Senior police official Syed Asad Raza said 15 DNA samples had been collected by Monday.

Amid the grief, there was also rising anger at the scene with people citing delays in the rescue effort and jeering the city's mayor when he showed up at the site nearly 24 hours after the fire broke out.

"My shop had 5 million to 6 million rupees ($17,880-$21,457) worth of goods, which has now turned to rubble. They're not letting us mourn, or stand and watch," said Gul Muhammad Adamjee, who ran a store in the mall's basement.

"All that's left is for them to bring kerosene oil and set us on fire."

The government has said it will investigate the cause of the fire and the response.

Police said that all but three of the mall's 16 exits were locked when the fire began around the shopping centre's closing time. Gul Plaza management did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

The blaze was Karachi's biggest since an industrial site went up in flames in 2012, killing more than 260 people. A court ruled in 2020 that this disaster involved arson.