A fire broke out at a shopping center in Karachi, Pakistan, killing six people and firefighters working to extinguish it.
Part of Gul Plaza, which includes 1,200 stores and covers 8,000 square meters (86,111 square feet), collapsed, hampering rescue efforts, police said.
One firefighter was among the dead, and more than 20 people were injured and some are feared to still be trapped inside the multi-storey mall.
The local emergency service said that when rescuers arrived on scene on Saturday, “the fire that started on the first floor had spread to the upper floors and almost the entire building was already engulfed in flames.”
A senior police official told the BBC that authorities were unable to search the building for bodies as the fire continued to burn.
More than 30 people have reported missing, and families have gathered outside the center anxiously awaiting news of their loved ones. City administrators have set up a desk to register names and details of missing persons.
Smoke was still billowing from the remains of the Gul Plaza building on Sunday morning. Most of it has collapsed and there are concerns it could collapse further.
Hasan Khan, spokesman for Rescue 1122 in Karachi, told BBC Urdu that the shopping center contained flammable materials including plastic foam, cloth, carpets and perfume.
Karachi police officer Summaiya Syed said six bodies and some of the injured were taken to the city’s civil hospital.
She added that police were “activating large-scale disaster protocols.”
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari expressed condolences and ordered the Sindh provincial government, where Karachi is located, to comprehensively review safety measures for commercial and residential buildings in the area.
