Gul Plaza declared unsafe; committee advises demolition after search ends

A technical committee has advised that Karachi’s fire-ravaged Gul Plaza should be demolished once the ongoing search and recovery operation is completed, warning the structure is now unsafe.

The committee—made up of officials from the Sindh Building Control Authority and the Pakistan Engineering Council—inspected the site on MA Jinnah Road and concluded the gutted building had become dangerous after the massive blaze.

The fire, described as the city’s largest in more than a decade, swept through the sprawling shopping complex late Saturday. Gul Plaza is known for roughly 1,200 family-run shops selling items such as wedding wear, toys and crockery.

Officials said the death toll rose to 67 as more bodies were recovered from the building. The rescue operation entered its sixth day, with authorities saying 88 people were still unaccounted for.

Police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed said 15 recovered bodies had been identified so far—some through visible identification, one via CNIC, and others through DNA analysis. She added that DNA profiling for dozens of remaining samples was still pending and that multiple samples were being taken from each set of remains to improve accuracy.

Separately, the Sindh government removed Municipal Commissioner Afzal Zaidi, directing him to report to the Services, General Administration and Coordination Department. Sources said his handling of the crisis drew criticism, and additional charge was assigned to Samira Hussain.

Investigators also shared preliminary findings suggesting the fire began inside a shop and was not caused by an electrical short circuit. According to sources, the initial ignition point was a store selling artificial flowers, where children were reportedly present, and the fire then spread to wiring and through the building. The inquiry said evacuation was hampered because several exit doors were closed and a rooftop grill obstructed movement.

The blaze damaged the building’s CCTV system beyond use, and investigators said they have recorded statements from witnesses and affected families. Relatives have complained about the pace of recovery, while dozens provided DNA samples to help identify the missing.

The provincial government announced compensation of Rs10 million per deceased victim’s family and said all shopkeepers would also receive compensation. The City Trader Union’s Sharjeel Goplani additionally claimed the market association collected Rs12.5 million per month in maintenance fees, arguing that safety preparations did not match the scale of collections and that management should answer for failures revealed by the tragedy.