Pakistan: 11 dead after a fire in a shopping center in Karachi

At least 11 people were killed and 35 others injured in a fire that broke out in a mall in Pakistan’s commercial capital, Karachi.

More than 60 people were inside the mall when the fire broke out on the fourth floor of the six-storey building in the southern port city.

The fire was reportedly caused by a short circuit in the generator

“Rescuers have taken 11 bodies to hospitals so far,” said Shahid Hussain, spokesman for the rescue service. He also revealed that the cause of the fire was an electrical short in the generator and it quickly spread to two floors of the building.

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He added that 35 people were injured, seven of them in serious condition.

He added: “At least 40 people were rescued.”

Shabbir Ali, spokesman for the local Ministry of Health, confirmed the death toll and the number of wounded.

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-Calay (@News_Calay) November 25, 2023

Inadequate safety and building codes, as well as lax implementation, make fires in large buildings in Pakistan common.

In 2012, at least 250 workers died at a garment factory in Baldia, west of Karachi, when a fire swept through the building.

In April this year, a fire broke out in a garment factory in Karachi, killing four firefighters, and in August 2021, at least 10 people were killed in a fire at a chemical factory in the same city.