The death toll rose sharply after 30 bodies were found in a closed store in Karachi’s Gul Plaza shopping centre.
Published on January 22, 2026
Death toll from A fire breaks out at a shopping center in Karachi Pakistani officials have said the toll has risen to at least 60 after at least 30 bodies were found in a single burnt-out shop.
Search and recovery operations at the Gull Plaza shopping center continued Thursday, with teams tasked with searching for more than 80 people still missing from Saturday’s devastating blaze at the dense commercial complex, officials said.
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Karachi South Deputy Inspector General Syed Asad Raza told the daily Dawn newspaper that at least 30 bodies were recovered from the shop on the mezzanine floor. He estimated the total death toll at 61 after the latest searches, and a final figure will be determined after DNA analysis is completed.
According to Karachi South Deputy Commissioner Javed Nabi Khoso, 30 dead bodies were recovered from Dubai Crockery shop.
He said that the victims had locked themselves in the shop to keep themselves safe. Local media reported that the victims took shelter in the store as a stampede erupted in the mall in the opening moments of Saturday’s fire.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah expressed grief over the rising death toll and ordered a halt to debris removal until all the bodies were removed, local media reported.
Teams are collecting samples to identify remains found in the complex, as officials warn the toll could rise further.
More than 50 families have given DNA samples, provincial health officer Summaiya Syed told reporters on Wednesday.
“We will hand over (the remains) to the family after the DNA samples are matched,” she said outside the Civil Hospital Karachi mortuary, AFP news agency reported.
In the wake of the fire, relatives of the missing have criticized the slow moving of the three-storey complex.
Faraj Ali, whose father and 26-year-old brother were at the mall, told AFP he wanted “the bodies to be taken out and handed over to their rightful families”.
“It’s all so that the families get something, some comfort, some peace. At least let’s see them one last time, whatever they’re in, so we can say our final goodbyes,” the 28-year-old said.
Karachi Commissioner Syed Hassan Naqvi, who heads the inquiry committee set up by the Sindh government to probe the fire, visited the mall on Wednesday and took fire safety measures. Not meeting international standardsLocal media reported.
The specific cause of the fire is yet to be revealed.
Karachi has a history of deadly fires, often blamed on poor safety standards and illegal construction, although such a large death toll is rare.
In November 2023, a fire at a shopping center in the city killed 10 people and injured 22 others.
In 2012, a fire in a garment factory in Karachi killed 260 people.