Gul Plaza Fire: Rescue official calls power shutdown 'major mistake'

KARACHI: Shutting down the electricity of the shopping mall was the major mistake, top rescue official on Tuesday told the Gul Plaza fire probe.

Director General Rescue 1122 Wajid Sibghatullah told the judicial commission as well as talking to the media here. “Power shutdown caused maximum loss”.

He said the lives could have been saved if Rescue 1122 was timely reported about the fire incident. “The fire erupted at 10:10 PM but we were informed late”, Wajid Sibghatullah said.

He said the Rescue 1122 working with limited resources in Karachi. “We don’t have heavy machinery for rescue operations,” DG Rescue said.

On Saturday night, January 17, a massive fire broke out at Gul Plaza on M.A. Jinnah Road, engulfing the commercial building and trapping dozens inside. The blaze raged for over 32 hours before being brought under control, exposing weaknesses of the city’s emergency response system.

In an early hearing of the inquiry commission, Gul Plaza Association president Tanveer Pasta appeared before the commission for questioning.

The commission asked about the official closing time of Gul Plaza. Tanveer Pasta told the commission that on regular days the plaza closes between 10:30pm and 10:45pm, while on Saturdays it shuts between 10:30pm and 11:00pm. When asked about officially notified timings, he said no authority had ever bound them to close strictly at a prescribed time.

Responding to questions about gate closures, he said doors begin closing from Gate No. 1 at around 10:30pm, with the entire process taking approximately 20 minutes. On Saturdays, gates start closing at 10:45pm, while the ramp is closed at around 11:30pm.

On the availability of CCTV footage, Tanveer Pasta said some DVRs were recovered from the debris after the Gul Plaza building collapsed. He added that DVRs were installed at two locations, including a security room in the basement. According to him, the CCTV system had been upgraded and around 280 cameras were installed in the building.

Pasta further told the commission that the main corridors were between six and eight feet wide, while mezzanine corridors were around ten feet wide. When asked about the number of shops under the approved plan, Tanveer Pasta stated that he had not constructed the building himself but confirmed that there were 1,153 shops, all of which were leased.