At least ten have died and more than 22 injured after a large fire engulfed several floors of a multistorey shopping mall in Pakistan's Karachi on Saturday, Mayor Murtaza Wahab stated.
The fire has now been extinguished.
"Fire had been extinguished & cooling process is going on. I can so far confirm 10 casualties & 22 persons have been injured," the Mayor said in a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
The bodies have been sent to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre and the Civil and Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.
Meanwhile, Karachi Deputy Commissioner Salim Rajput visited the site and ordered an investigation into the incident.
“The buildings lacking security arrangements will be sealed. From tomorrow, all the deputy commissioners will collect data on buildings in their areas,” Rajput said adding that action will be taken against those responsible.
Separately, Chief Fire Officer Mubeen Ahmed told the media that this was the second such incident in the same mall.
“After completion of the rescue operation, it will be known whether fire safety equipment was present or not,” he stated.
At least 50 people were trapped inside the mall and all have been rescued, according to media reports quoting fire department officials.
The fire broke out on the second floor of the mall at 7am (local time) and spread to the fourth, fifth and sixth floors.
The cause of the fire is not yet known. The injured have been taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.