According to officials and rescue workers, at least 11 people killed and several others injured when a fire engulfed a shopping mall in Karachi on Saturday.
Massive Fire Erupted In RJ Mall Karachi
The fire broke out in the RJ Shopping Mall building around 6 a.m. and finally extinguished after hours of work.
According to a Fire Department spokesperson, eight fire tenders, two snorkels, and a water bowser used to extinguish the fire.
The cooling process begun, and a search for any survivors trapped inside the building was underway.
Casualties
“Eleven people have died and six others are in critical condition due to smoke and fire in RJ Shopping Mall,” Shahid Hussain, a spokesperson for the Chhipa Welfare Organization.
Shabbir Ali Babar, a spokesperson for the Sindh provincial health department, confirmed the number of casualties and stated that the bodies transferred to the city’s Jinnah and Civil hospitals.
Sindh Caretaker Chief Minister Maqbool Baqar has directed the local administration to rescue people and treat the injured as soon as possible.
“It is the responsibility of the government to protect the lives of people,” a statement from his office said.
Incompetency of Govt.
Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and main commercial hub, is home to hundreds of thousands of industrial units as well as some of the country’s tallest structures.
Despite its size, the city has only 22 fire stations, a few dozen operational fire tenders, a few snorkels, and a little more than a thousand firefighters.
Four firefighters killed and nearly a dozen others injured in April when a fire broke out in a garment factory.
In August 2021, a massive fire at a chemical factory in the city killed ten people.
The deadliest such incident occurred in 2012, when 260 people were trapped inside a garment factory when a fire broke out.
To read our blog on “In Lahore 10 from a single family dead from fire,” click here.
