Fire at multi-storey mall on Karachi’s Rashid Minhas Road leaves 11 dead, several injured

Fire at a multi-storey mall on Karachi’s Rashid Minhas Road has left eleven people dead and several injured.

As reported, a fire broke out in RJ shopping mall at Rashid Minhas Road in the wee hours of Saturday.

A statement from the Fire and Rescue spokesperson said the department was alerted about the incident at 6:30 am, after which eight fire tenders, two snorkels and two bowsers were sent.

The statement added that the fire had since been controlled and the cooling process was now underway.

According to Fire Rescue Commander Humayun Khan, the fire in the building was probably caused by a short circuit, there was no fire extinguishing system in the shopping centre, and there was no air outlet due to the central air conditioning system.

According to the fire rescue commander, the call centres in the shopping centre work 24 hours a day and have managed to rescue 50 people.

According to District East Deputy Commissioner Altaf Sheikh, “22 people had been rescued and shifted to JPMC, out of which one succumbed to injuries on the way.”

The DC in a report submitted to Chief Minister Sindh added that the building had been cleared up to the fourth floor while clearance of the fifth and sixth floors was under way.

Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab confirmed the number of casualties taken to his X, formerly Twitter, account.

” The Fire had been extinguished & cooling process is going on. I can so far confirm 10 casualties & 22 persons have been injured,” he said.

Seven of the 11 people who died in the fire in the RJ shopping centre on Rashid Minhas Road have been identified.

According to the Deputy Director of the Accident Department of Jinnah Hospital, Dr Nosheen Rauf, 9 bodies have been brought to the hospital, out of which 7 people have been identified.

Dr Nausheen Rauf said that among those who died in the accident were 35-year-old Wahaj, 25-year-old Asad, 32-year-old Karim Bakhsh, 43-year-old Muhammad Younis, 30-year-old Bilal Asif, 55-year-old Kashif Anis and 23-year-old Bilal Tajuddin.

Caretaker Sindh Chief Minister Justice (rtd) Maqbool Baqar took notice of the incident and directed to provide medical aid immediately to the injured in the incident.

In a statement, the interim CM expressed grief on the loss of lives of “six people” and directed the city commissioner to rescue the trapped persons safely.

The chief minister stated that the responsibility for “people’s lives and belongings was of the government”.