Manzar Naqvi
KARACHI: Karachi was shaken to its core on Sunday as an enormous fireplace at Gul Plaza on MA Jinnah Street claimed not less than six lives, together with a firefighter, injured greater than 30 folks, and left dozens feared trapped, laying naked the town’s continual failures in fireplace security, emergency preparedness and concrete governance.
The blaze, which erupted late Saturday evening, unfold quickly by way of the multi-storey industrial constructing and continued to burn for greater than 12 hours regardless of large-scale firefighting efforts. Rescue officers confirmed that two sections of the plaza collapsed throughout operations, whereas the remaining construction has been declared critically unsafe, elevating fears of additional casualties.
Among the many useless was firefighter Furqan of the Nazimabad Hearth Workplace, who misplaced his life whereas making an attempt to rescue these trapped inside. His loss of life has highlighted the intense dangers confronted by emergency responders working in hazardous circumstances, typically with out satisfactory infrastructure help. Different victims included shopkeepers and staff who had been reportedly contained in the constructing when the hearth broke out.
In keeping with rescue authorities, round 60 per cent of the hearth has been managed, however intense warmth, thick smoke and the plaza’s sealed design prevented firefighters from coming into the constructing for hours.
Rescue 1122 spokespersons stated trapped people had been being assisted by way of snorkels, whereas greater than 20 fireplace tenders, snorkel automobiles and foam items had been deployed on the web site, with help from Sindh Rangers and Pakistan Navy groups.
Hospital officers confirmed that 4 our bodies had been delivered to the Civil Hospital Trauma Centre, whereas two injured later succumbed to their wounds, elevating the loss of life toll to 6. Eleven injured individuals stay in vital situation. A number of others had been handled and discharged.
Merchants’ representatives warned that the tragedy could also be far higher than presently confirmed. The president of the merchants’ affiliation stated between 80 and 100 folks had been believed to have been inside Gul Plaza on the time of the hearth, together with workers and shopkeepers who stayed behind after clients had left. Six girls who had reportedly come for marriage ceremony buying stay lacking, with households anxiously awaiting data.
Gul Plaza, considered one of Karachi’s oldest industrial complexes, homes greater than 1,200 retailers, many stocked with items price crores of rupees. Merchants estimate monetary losses working into billions. The hearth is believed to have originated in a ground-floor store promoting synthetic flowers – a extremely flammable commodity – earlier than spreading quickly by way of the constructing.
Rescue officers additionally expressed concern over the structural integrity of close by buildings, reporting cracks in adjoining plazas and warning of a possible cascading collapse. MA Jinnah Street was closed to site visitors between Anklesaria Chowk and Central Plaza, with diversions put in place to facilitate rescue operations.
Past the fast human and financial toll, the Gul Plaza fireplace has reignited critical questions on Karachi’s enforcement of constructing and fireplace security laws. The plaza reportedly lacked correct air flow, useful fireplace exits and trendy fireplace suppression methods – deficiencies widespread throughout lots of the metropolis’s ageing industrial buildings.
Political leaders on the federal and provincial ranges expressed grief and introduced inquiries. The Sindh Chief Minister ordered an in depth investigation into the causes of the hearth and directed authorities to conduct fireplace security audits of economic buildings throughout the town. Directions had been additionally issued to make sure the very best medical look after the injured and help for affected merchants.
Whereas these assurances had been welcomed, merchants voiced frustration over what they described as delayed and ineffective response, claiming that senior civic management failed to succeed in out within the vital early hours of the catastrophe.
Karachi has witnessed related tragedies previously, the place inquiries and guarantees adopted lethal fires, just for enforcement to fade as soon as public consideration shifted. The Gul Plaza inferno has as soon as once more underscored the price of neglect – measured not solely in billions of rupees misplaced, however in human lives which may have been saved by way of primary security compliance.
As rescue efforts proceed and households seek for lacking family members, the town waits to see whether or not this tragedy will lastly immediate lasting reform, or grow to be yet one more grim chapter in Karachi’s lengthy historical past of preventable disasters.
