The death toll in Karachi’s Arshi Shopping Mall inferno jumped to five as the rescue teams have found another body during clearance operation on Thursday. The incident occurred in Karachi’s Ayesha Manzil where fire erupted in foam shops and quickly expanded to residential flats on Wednesday evening. The body was retrieved from the first floor of the shopping mall and was shifted to the Burns Ward of Civil Hospital. The fire was doused by the rescue workers after hours of struggle. Mayor Karachi Murtaza Wahab said the authorities will estimate the losses once the fire brigade officials complete the process. Safety warning “The affected building is at risk of collapse at anytime” warned 1122 officials and urged the people to stay away from premises of the building for their safety.

Rescue 1122 has confirmed the safe evacuation of 300 individuals from the affected building. Fortunately, no damage has been reported to nearby structures. 1122 officials stated that the firefighting and cooling process is being carried out simultaneously to contain the escalating situation.

Sindh CM notice

Furthermore, Caretaker Chief Minister Sindh Maqbool Baqar took notice of the Arshi shopping mall fire and directed the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner to closely monitor the situation at the site of the incident. Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab emphasized that the primary focus is on saving human lives, though the exact number of people trapped remains uncertain. The development comes days after 11 people were killed when a huge fire engulfed R.J. Shopping Mall at Karachi’s Rashid Minhas Road.

Following the incident, Mayor Karachi Murtaza Wahab decided to conduct ‘safety audit’ of all major buildings across the city. Wahab – in a statement – said that firstly, a safety audit of major buildings at I.I Chundrigar Road and Sharea Faisal will be carried out. In the second phase, the mayor said, the authorities will conduct audit of buildings at Tariq Road.He regretted that no emergency evacuation routes were built in majority of the buildings in Karachi. “Action will be taken against responsible, if there are no safety exit in huge buildings,” he added.

 
Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)