The death toll in a fire that engulfed a shopping center in Pakistan has risen to 67, police have confirmed.
Police say 77 people are currently reported missing by their families after the fire at Gul Plaza, in Pakistan’s largest city Karachi, on Saturday night.
But the extent of the damage after the fire – which took more than 24 hours to put out – slowed rescue efforts, as authorities combed through the remains of the 6,500sq m (70,000 sq ft) complex.
While some of the bodies found were only partial remains, authorities were able to count 67 skeletons, the deputy police commissioner told the BBC. The process of identifying the bodies continues, with 15 people identified so far.
Gul Plaza has about 1,200 shops, spread over several floors. Wedding season in Karachi is usually a very busy time of the year for shoppers.
While the cause of the fire is still unknown, witnesses previously told the BBC that the lack of working fire exits and the number of shoppers and stalls crowding the building exacerbated the disaster.
Shop owner Rehan Faisal recounted how it only took about “five to seven minutes” for everything to “burn in front of our eyes”.
“Many customers and shopkeepers came … and said there was a fire in the basement. I was just beginning to understand the situation when the shop owner told me to lock up and get out,” he told BBC Urdu.
With the facility soon to close, most of the shopping center’s gates were locked, witnesses said.
Senior police official Syed Asad Raza told the Reuters news agency that all but three of the center’s 16 exits were locked.