Survivors tell of Pakistan mall fire horror

Muhammad Amin suffers from sadness and despair.

His brother Naveed Memon was inside Gul Plaza when a massive fire broke out in the densely populated shopping center in Pakistan’s commercial capital, Karachi.

Like dozens of others, he has not yet been found.

“What should I tell my mom when I get home? What should I tell my nieces?” Amin asks.

“My nieces are crying for their father – asking me why he was late coming home. What should I tell them? How can I tell them their father is gone?”

Featuring an estimated 1,200 stores on the basement, mezzanine, and three floors, Gul Plaza was a wholesale market offering a wide range of inexpensive products, including wedding clothes, toys, decorations, bed sheets, artificial flowers, and children’s clothing. The city’s residents frequented it in large numbers, especially before festivals, weddings, and other important occasions.

What started the fire is still unknown.

But eyewitnesses say that the speed with which it spread, the lack of working fire exits, and the density of shoppers and stalls crowded in the building, exacerbated the disaster.

Rayhan Faisal, owner of a sheet shop, said that he was able to escape because his shop was located near one of the exits, so he broke the door to get out.

He said that although his employees heard there was a fire in one part of the market, they were not concerned at first because it was located a long distance away from them.

“No one knew it would spread this much,” Faisal added, saying it only took “five to seven minutes” for “everything to burn before our eyes.”

Shuaib (19 years old), who worked in a decoration shop, said that he first heard about the fire in the basement at around 22:00 local time (17:00 GMT) on Saturday evening.

He told BBC Urdu: “Many customers and shop owners were coming… and saying there was a fire in the basement. I was just beginning to understand the situation when the shop owner asked me to close the door and get out.”

“Then suddenly smoke covered everything – we couldn’t see anything and there was panic and confusion everywhere. People were running here and there. I knew some ways to get out of the square. But the first exit I tried was closed and the crowds were so dense that I couldn’t go the other way.”

As the facility approaches closure, most of the mall’s gates are closed. Senior police official Syed Asad Raza told Reuters news agency that all but three of the station’s 16 exits were closed.

Shuaib was among the luckiest. He fainted in the smoke, but someone – he does not know who – took him out of the building to a safe place.

Another colleague who was trying to escape with him is still missing.

The confirmed death toll from the fire currently stands at 27, but more than 70 people are still missing, and the unstable structure of the still-smoldering building makes it difficult for rescue officials to get inside and assess the full extent of the disaster.

Dr Abid Jalaluddin Sheikh, a senior rescue official, told BBC Urdu that rescue efforts were further slowed down because the building’s structure was so badly damaged that it was at risk of complete collapse at any time. He added that many of the bodies had not been identified and they would have to conduct forensic examinations to confirm the exact number of deaths.

Meanwhile, crowds of people searching for their loved ones gathered around the building, desperate for any news.

Muhammad Qaiser told the BBC that his wife, sister and daughter-in-law were among the missing. “They said they were going to the market. The last contact with them was at 20:00 when it was discovered that a fire had broken out. We do not know what happened to them.”

Officials were unable to help, Kaiser said, describing how his family was asked to visit the burn center and morgue at different times.

Haroun, another resident, said that three of his brothers were inside the building. Two managed to escape, but one is still missing.

He said: “My brother called our people from inside the square asking them to save him. He also called his friends and appealed to them, but no one was able to save him.”

Survivor Shuaib is also still in the building hoping for news of his cousin Faizan, who was working in another store.

“I used to go to work every morning and come back with my cousin. Now I don’t feel like going home without him. I’m waiting for him to be taken out of the building alive,” he said, adding that his phone was ringing all the time because Faizan’s family constantly asked if he had any news.

“I don’t have answers for them.”

As the search continues, anger grows.

On Monday, hundreds of demonstrators gathered around the building to demand accountability.

Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab, who arrived at the scene about 24 hours after the fire broke out, was met with ridicule.

Muhammad Arif, whose nephew was among the missing, says relief work did not start on time and that “precious lives could have been saved.”

The sentiment was echoed by many residents and politicians that it took rescue officials too long to reach the building.

Faisal said that it took a long time for the fire brigade to arrive, “while ambulances that were not needed at that moment had already arrived.”

Reuters news agency quoted rescue services as saying that the authorities received the first emergency call only at 22:38 on Saturday, stating that the shops on the ground floor were on fire. By the time firefighters arrived, the flames had already spread to the upper floors, engulfing much of the building.

Murad Ali Shah, Prime Minister of the southern Sindh province, which includes Karachi, promised to conduct an investigation into the fire and determine the time for a response.

Lawmakers from across the political spectrum on Tuesday condemned the fire and called for sweeping reforms in the areas of building safety, emergency response and urban management, while the House of Representatives debated a motion to postpone the tragedy.

The Prime Minister was among those who offered their condolences and promised action.

But for those gathered at the ruins of Gull Square, this is of little consolation.

“This is the third time in a while that a building has caught fire in Karachi’s Saddar area,” Muhammad Arif said.

“How long will this last and how many people will have to die?”