Death toll rises to 67 in Pakistan’s Karachi fire

Kathmandu. At least 67 people have been killed in a fire at Gul Plaza Mall in Karachi. A spokesman for the local government, who did not want to be named, said on Friday.

On January 17, the fire spread to a three-storey building.TAG_OPEN_p_9 Six days after the incident, investigators have not officially revealed the cause of the fire.

According to the spokesperson, post-mortems of 67 people have been completed so far.TAG_OPEN_p_8 The DNA testing process is underway and so far the identities of 8 people have been confirmed.

The families of the victims have expressed dissatisfaction over the slow progress in the rescue and identification of bodies.TAG_OPEN_p_7 More than 50 families have submitted their DNA samples to search for their missing relatives.

TAG_OPEN_p_6 The provincial government has announced a compensation of 10 million Pakistani rupees (about $35,720) to each of the families of the deceased. About 1,200 shopkeepers in the mall will also be compensated.

Although fires are common in Karachi’s markets and factories due to poor infrastructure, such a large fire is considered rare in history.TAG_OPEN_p_5 The provincial government said it was taking steps to strictly enforce fire safety standards in malls and markets.