Massive blaze at Karachi’s Gul Plaza kills six, wrecks central market

A major fire ripped through Gul Plaza late Saturday night, racing from ground-floor shops to the upper floors of the multistory complex and killing at least six people while injuring dozens. Flames and thick black smoke were visible for blocks as parts of the building collapsed and large sections were gutted, leaving unstable structures that hampered search and rescue operations.

Gul Plaza is a large historic commercial hub in central Karachi that houses about 1,200 stores and covers roughly 8,000 square metres, or about 86,111 square feet. Firefighters and rescue teams were called to the scene shortly after 10:00 p.m. and worked through the night using ladders, water cannons and hoses. Authorities warned that active fires and the risk of further collapse prevented a full search of the complex for many hours.

Official counts varied in the immediate aftermath. Initial reports gave three dead and about a dozen injured; later confirmations from hospital and city officials placed the confirmed death toll at six. Karachi Civil Hospital received six bodies, and police have invoked mass disaster protocols, according to medical and municipal authorities. Hospital caseloads and media accounts put injuries at more than 20 in some reports while other outlets described them as more than a dozen. Families at the site and outside hospitals reported more than 30 people missing, and city administrators established a registration desk to log names and details of missing persons.

Investigators had not confirmed a single cause in the hours after the blaze. Officials said they were examining possible electrical faults, stored flammable materials and negligence. Emergency responders and authorities pointed to highly combustible stock in many shops and storage areas as a key factor in the rapid vertical spread of the fire. Items cited by rescue teams included imported garments, plastic household goods, plastic foam, cloth, carpets and perfumes, materials that burn quickly and produce dense smoke.

The fire has immediate economic consequences for a district of the city that concentrates small retail traders and informal wholesale activities. Hundreds of shopkeepers faced total loss of premises and inventory in a single night, compounding livelihood risks for largely uninsured microenterprises. The destruction of trading space in a centre with roughly 1,200 outlets will reduce retail supply in nearby neighborhoods and could push affected traders into informal work or indebtedness while they rebuild.

Karachi has a recent track record of deadly market and mall fires, including a November 2023 shopping-centre blaze that killed 10 and injured 22. Those episodes have prompted repeated calls for stricter enforcement of building codes, routine safety audits, better fire-prevention infrastructure and clearer rules on storage of flammable stock. President Asif Ali Zardari expressed condolences and instructed provincial authorities to conduct a comprehensive review of safety arrangements in commercial and residential buildings.

At the time of the latest reports, sections of the complex were still smouldering, rescue teams were continuing operations under hazardous conditions and officials warned that casualty and missing-person totals could change as searches proceed and the site is made safe for a full investigation. The disaster underlines the longer term challenge for Pakistan’s largest city: retrofitting dense, economically vital market zones for fire resilience without displacing the small traders who depend on them.