Gul Plaza fire: Rescue teams set to enter building for search today, says DC

KARACHI: Deputy Commissioner Karachi South Javed Nabi Khoso has said that search operations will carried out inside the fire-hit Gul Plaza on Tuesday (today).

Speaking to the media, the DC South stated that a total of 20 bodies have so far been recovered, of which 18 have been identified. He added that the list of missing persons currently contains 83 names.

He said the rescue and search operation remains ongoing, noting that around 40 per cent of the Gul Plaza building has collapsed.

According to experts from the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), the remaining sections are extremely fragile. He urged traders to cooperate with the administration and to stay away from the red zone.

The deputy commissioner said that, for the first time, teams will enter the building today to carry out an internal search.

He further clarified that some names had been mistakenly listed twice among the missing persons. After verification, 75 individuals are confirmed missing, while mobile location data for 39 people has traced them to Gul Plaza.

A massive fire at Gul Plaza on M.A. Jinnah Road has left the city reeling, as authorities confirm the blaze, which broke out on January 17 around 10:00 P.M., was brought under control after 34 hours, but the building remains structurally fragile and unsafe.

Rescue teams, backed by the Army, Rangers and the civil administration, are continuing a cautious search operation for missing persons while engineers assess the stability of the damaged structure, amid growing fears of further collapse as new details continue to emerge from the site.