Secured exits, chaos and urgent pleas for assistance: Survivors recount the nightmare of the shopping center blaze

Muhammed Amin is overwhelmed with sorrow and distress.

His brother, Naveed Memon, was present in Gul Plaza at the time when a tremendous blaze swept through the crowded shopping center in Karachi, the commercial heart of Pakistan.

Like many others, he remains unaccounted for.

“What do I say to my mother when I return home? What do I tell my nieces?” Amin questions.

“My nieces are weeping for their father – they are asking me why he hasn’t returned home yet. What can I say to them? How do I explain that their father is no longer here?”

Gul Plaza, which housed around 1,200 shops over a basement, a mezzanine, and three floors, was a wholesale marketplace that provided a vast array of low-cost items, such as wedding attire, toys, decorative pieces, bed linens, synthetic flowers, and infant clothes. Residents of the city frequented it, especially before festivals, weddings, and other significant events.

The cause of the fire remains unclear.

However, witnesses claim the rapidity of its spread, inadequate functioning fire exits, and the crowded nature of shoppers and stalls crammed inside the structure worsened the calamity.

Rehan Faisal, who operated a bedsheet business, mentioned that he managed to flee because his shop was positioned near an exit – he broke through the door to escape.

He stated that while his employees had sensed there was a fire in one section of the market, they had initially been unconcerned as it was situated at a distance from them.

“Nobody expected it would spread so widely,” Faisal remarked, noting it took merely “five to seven minutes” for everything to “ignite before our very eyes”.

Shoiab, 19, who was employed at a decoration store, recounted that he first became aware of the fire on a lower level around 22:00 local time (17:00 GMT) on Saturday night.

“Numerous customers and shop owners were heading up… informing us there was a fire below. I was just starting to understand the situation when the shop owner instructed me to secure the shop and exit,” he told BBC Urdu.

“Then out of nowhere, everything was engulfed in smoke – visibility was zero, and chaos reigned everywhere. People were fleeing in all directions. I was familiar with some exit routes from the plaza. However, the first exit I tried was locked, and the crowds prevented me from going another way.”

Due to the facility’s impending closure, most entrances to the shopping center were locked. Senior police officer Syed Asad Raza informed Reuters that only three of the center’s 16 exits were open.

Shoiab was fortunate. He lost consciousness in the smoke, but someone—unknown to him—rescued him from the building and brought him to safety.

Another coworker trying to escape with him is still unaccounted for.

Currently, the confirmed number of fatalities from the fire is 27, but over 70 individuals remain missing, and the unstable state of the still-burning structure is hindering rescue teams from entering and evaluating the full scope of the tragedy.

Dr. Abid Jalaluddin Sheikh, a senior rescue officer, conveyed to BBC Urdu that rescue operations were further impeded due to the building’s significant damage, rendering it at risk of total collapse at any moment. He noted that many of the bodies were unidentifiable and that forensic investigations would be necessary to ascertain the precise death toll.

Meanwhile, throngs of individuals seeking news about their loved ones have gathered around the site, anxiously awaiting updates.

Muhammad Qaiser informed the BBC that his wife, sister, and daughter-in-law are amongst the missing. “They mentioned they were going to the market. The last communication with them happened at 20:00 when it was reported that a fire had broken out. We have no idea what became of them.”

Qaiser expressed frustration as officials directed his family to visit both the burn unit and the morgue at varying times.

Another local, Haroon, revealed that three of his brothers were inside the plaza. Two escaped, but one is still unaccounted for.

“My brother called our parents from the plaza pleading for help. He also reached out to his friends for assistance, but no one could reach him,” he shared.

Shoiab, the survivor, remains near the site, hoping for updates about his cousin, Faizan, who was employed at a different store.

“Every day, I used to commute to work alongside my cousin. Now, I don’t wish to go back home without him. I’m holding out hope for his safe retrieval from the ruins,” he mentioned, emphasizing that his phone continually buzzed with inquiries from Faizan’s family about any updates.

“I have no information to provide them.”

As the search efforts persist, frustration is escalating.

On Monday, hundreds of demonstrators congregated near the site demanding accountability.

Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab, who arrived at the location nearly 24 hours post-fire outbreak, faced public rebuke.

Muhammed Arif, whose nephew is among the unaccounted, states that the relief operations commenced too late, asserting that “valuable lives might have been preserved”.

Numerous residents and politicians voiced a shared sentiment that the emergency response to the situation was excessively delayed.

Faisal remarked that the firefighting team took considerable time to arrive, “while ambulances, which were not even urgently needed at that moment, were already on the scene”.

According to news agency Reuters, rescue services reported that authorities received the first emergency alert at 22:38 on Saturday, indicating that ground-floor establishments were ablaze. By the time firefighters reached the scene, the flames had already extended to the upper levels, engulfing a large portion of the building.

Murad Ali Shah, the chief minister of Sindh province, which includes Karachi, has pledged an investigation into the fire incident and the subsequent response time.

Additionally, legislators from various political groups condemned the fire on Tuesday and urged comprehensive reforms concerning building safety, emergency preparedness, and urban governance while the House deliberated on a motion regarding the disaster.

The prime minister is among those expressing condolences and promising necessary actions.

However, for those assembled at the remnants of Gul Plaza, such assurances afford little comfort.

“This marks the third incident of a building catching fire in Karachi’s Saddar area recently,” noted Muhammed Arif.

“How long will this continue, and how many more lives must be lost?”