KARACHI: Survivors of the deadly Gul Plaza fire have revealed shocking details of the chaos inside the building, exposing major safety failures that turned the shopping centre into a death trap, media reported.
Speaking to the media from Civil Hospital, Zubair, who was brought in unconscious after the Gul Plaza fire, said the situation became unbearable within minutes of the blaze breaking out.
Zubair said Gul Plaza has a total of 26 gates, but after 10pm, 24 of them were locked, leaving only two exit routes open.
“When the fire started, darkness and thick smoke filled the building. The locked gates made the situation much worse,” he said, adding that more than 20 people, including relatives and guests, were present inside his shop at the time.
He said the fire broke out on the ground floor while he was on the mezzanine floor of Gul Plaza and the flames spread rapidly, filling the entire market with smoke. Zubair said he collapsed outside his shop due to smoke inhalation and lost consciousness.
A second shopkeeper, who is also Zubair’s cousin, described how he and others entered Gul Plaza on their own to save trapped people.
“We went inside Gul Plaza on our own and pulled our cousin Zubair out. There were 12 to 15 people in our shop, including women. Breathing was extremely difficult because of the smoke,” the shopkeeper said.
He said when he contacted another cousin trapped inside Gul Plaza, the man began apologizing and said he did not think they would survive.
“We managed to bring many people out of the building with our own hands. Some people were lying unconscious on the ground,” he added.
The shopkeeper said there was no emergency exit in Gul Plaza, and at night all gates were shut except two, which turned the building into a trap when the fire erupted.
He appealed for the recovery of the missing, saying, “We pray that at least the bodies are found so we can perform their burials.”
The survivors’ accounts have raised serious questions about safety arrangements at Gul Plaza and other buildings in Karachi, as rescue operations continue and families wait anxiously for news of their loved ones. –Agencies
