KARACHI, Mar 14 : Inadequate equipment and delayed response by the fire department resulted in over 70 deaths and injuries in the January fire at a shopping complex in Pakistan’s Karachi, an office-bearer of the mall association alleged Saturday.
At least 73 persons were killed in the massive fire that engulfed the Gul Shopping Plaza on January 17. About two dozen people were injured due to the fire, smoke inhalation and structural failures after the blaze turned into an inferno that could be reigned in only after two days.
Gul Shopping Plaza Association president Tanveer Pasha, in a written statement submitted to the Judicial Commission said that the fire engine reached the site nearly 40 minutes after the fire broke out.
Within 20 minutes, they had run out of water, he added.
The authorities called off the search operation at the fire-ravaged shopping plaza after nine days, on January 27, and sealed the building.
The probe commission was formed by the Sindh government and is headed by Justice Agha Faisal.
According to the statement submitted to the probe body, Pasha said the other fire tenders/snorkels reached the spot after nearly an hour.
Till then, the fire had engulfed the ground floor, it said.
Pasha stated that the firefighters and rescue teams lacked the necessary communication channels and equipment, including masks and other safety gear, to enter the building straightaway to rescue people trapped inside.
He said the firefighters didn’t even have enough foam and chemicals to extinguish the fire immediately.
The shop owners arranged for private water tankers voluntarily, and even the water corporation sent tankers in the wee hours next morning, the president said in the statement, adding that the snorkels were used to rescue people from the roof.
The station officer of the Fire and Rescue Department of Karachi told Justice Agha Faisal that currently, there are just three snorkels, two fire tenders (one non-functional), around 65 staff members and four drivers working in two shifts.
He also acknowledged that this manpower and resources’ strength is nothing compared to the growing population of the coastal city.
Earlier, the Sindh cabinet had approved financial assistance of PKR 10 million for the families of each deceased victim, along with interest-free loans of PKR 10 million to help affected shopkeepers restart their businesses. (PTI)
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