Rising smoke, locked exits: How Karachi mall inferno trapped victims

Police official Syed Asad Raza said all but three of the mall’s 16 exits were locked

KARACHI:

When smoke began seeping from ducts at the sprawling Gul Plaza shopping complex in Karachi late on Saturday, people inside initially believed a small fire had broken out in a corner of the mall.

Instead, flames spread rapidly through the building, which housed about 1,200 stores in Karachi’s historic centre.

“It engulfed the whole mall in front of our eyes,” said shopowner Shahbaz Iqbal, 27, speaking to Reuters on Monday after firefighters brought the blaze largely under control following a 24-hour operation. Authorities said 21 people had been killed and more than 60 were still missing.

Rescue workers search amid the debris after a massive fire at a shopping mall in Karachi on January 19, 2026. PHOTO: AFP

“We thought it was a small fire. No one ever thought it would be this bad,” Iqbal said.

Iqbal and his co-workers escaped through one of the basement exits, but those on upper floors were less fortunate. With the mall due to close soon, most of its gates were locked.

Senior police official Syed Asad Raza told Reuters that all but three of the mall’s 16 exits were locked.

Read More: Death toll in Gul Plaza blaze rises to 26 as rescue work continues

“When I went in, I saw the locks,” said rescue worker Aqeel, who declined to give his full name as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

Gul Plaza’s management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

‘All my people’

As rescue workers dug through mounds of debris, human remains were recovered from the building, wrapped in white cotton sheets used as makeshift sacks.

Fire at Karachi Gul Plaza. PHOTO: XINHUA

Shafi Ahmed, who owned a shop in the basement, stood with his hands clasped in prayer. Asked if anyone he knew was inside, he said five of his friends had been trapped.

“These are all our people. These are all my people,” he said, breaking down in tears.

Emergency personnel remove human remains, following a massive fire that broke out in the Gul Plaza Shopping Mall in Karachi, Pakistan, January 19, 2026. PHOTO: REUTERS

Police struggled to control grieving families and shopowners who said they had lost everything. At one point, officials discovered a drawer full of cash, sparking a fight among shopowners claiming ownership.

Rising anger

Hundreds of protesters gathered around the smouldering remains of the building on Monday, demanding accountability from the authorities.

Also Read: SBCA records expose safety violations at Gul Plaza

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah promised an investigation into the fire and the rescue response, while Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab was jeered by crowds after arriving nearly 24 hours after the blaze broke out.

Roads under construction outside Gul Plaza were flooded after the firefighting effort. Rescue officials sat in a tent nearby, recording the names of the missing.

A woman is comforted as she mourns six missing family members who were there shopping for a wedding ceremony, following a massive fire that broke out in the Gul Plaza Shopping Mall in Karachi, Pakistan, January 19, 2026. PHOTO: REUTERS

Razia, 40, who uses one name, said six of her relatives worked in the building.

“One of them jumped out with two friends. One friend broke his legs and the other died on the spot,” she said, recounting her nephew’s account.

Another relative, Ibrar, a flower shop worker, failed to escape. He broke down a door to help others flee, “but he is still stuck … no one has heard from him since Saturday,” Razia said.