Karachi [Pakistan], January 25 (ANI): Nearly a week after the catastrophic fire at Gul Plaza shopping complex, the death toll has risen to 71 as rescue teams recovered additional human remains during ongoing search operations, Dunya News reported.
Deputy Commissioner South Javed Nabi Khoso on Saturday said that of the 82 people reported missing following the blaze, bodies or remains of 71 victims have been recovered so far, while 11 persons are still unaccounted for. He added that around 90 per cent of the plaza has been cleared and the search operation is expected to conclude by tonight.
Khoso said rescue teams, using snorkels, re-entered the upper floors of the fire-damaged building, though search efforts have yet to begin in the most sensitive section of the structure.
Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed told Dunya News that only 16 bodies have been identified so far, noting that the DNA identification process has become highly complicated due to the severe condition of the remains.
Meanwhile, the process of disbursing compensation to the families of the deceased has begun.
The Deputy Commissioner said documentation for the families of eight victims has been completed and forwarded to the Sindh government. The provincial government has announced compensation of Rs 10 million (one crore rupees) for each deceased victim’s family,Dunya News reported.
As rescue operations continue, grief and frustration among families of the missing spilt onto the streets on Friday, with relatives staging protests near the gutted shopping complex, The Express Tribune reported.
Women clutching photographs of sons, husbands and brothers assembled near the charred site, accusing officials and rescue teams of moving painfully slowly while their loved ones remained unaccounted for, it said.
According to The Express Tribune, the demonstrators said they had been running from one office to another since the blaze, only to receive vague assurances instead of concrete information. With parts of the structure still buried under rubble, families questioned why debris clearance had not been completed even six days after the disaster. Several women described the wait as “mentally unbearable,” saying every passing hour without answers was compounding their trauma. (ANI)