ISLAMABAD, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from a massive fire at a multi-storey commercial building in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi has risen to 26, while 74 people are still missing, officials said on Tuesday.
A total of 20 bodies have so far been formally identified and medico-legal examinations completed, heightening anxiety among families waiting near the site, Hassan Khan, a spokesperson for Rescue 1122 in Karachi, told Xinhua.
He said that they have received location information for 39 individuals believed to have been inside the building at the time of the incident.
Search and rescue operations are continuing amid severe structural risks as about 40 percent of the building has collapsed, while the remaining portions are extremely weak and could collapse at any moment.
Authorities have also begun removing vehicles from the rooftop parking area to reduce the load on the weakened structure.
So far, 16 vehicles, including 12 motorcycles, four cars and one rickshaw, have been cleared. The area around Gul Plaza has been declared a red zone, with Rapid Response Force personnel and crowd management teams deployed to keep civilians at a safe distance.
The fire has caused an estimated 100 billion Pakistani rupees (about 360 million U.S. dollars) in economic losses. The blaze, which started on Saturday night, engulfed the entire building.
Firefighters took more than 24 hours to bring the fire under control. Gul Plaza housed around 1,200 shops and covered an area of about 8,000 square meters. Officials said debris and a lack of ventilation inside the building were hampering rescue efforts. ■