KARACHI: With the search operation entering its eighth day, the fatalities in the Gul Plaza inferno have surpassed 70 as rescuers continue to go through rubble to find those still missing in the aftermath of the tragedy.
“Human remains of 71 people [from Gul Plaza fire] have been processed,” said Chief Police Surgeon Karachi Dr Summaiya Syed Tariq.
Dr Summayia added that 20 remains have been identified, of which seven were identified via facial recognition and 13 via DNA. A total of 54 family DNA samples have been collected, she noted, while highlighting that the DNA process is complicated as the bodies recovered from the site had been severely burned.
The authorities have said that at least 80% of rescue and search operations have been completed, and work to move the rubble of the demolished parts is underway.
A first information report (FIR) has been registered at the Nabi Bux Police Station with provisions relating to negligence, carelessness, said the police.
The FIR, as per police officials, has been sealed after registration.
Letter to PM: MQM-P seeks Centre’s intervention
Amid uproar over the incident, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) Chairman Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui has written a letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif seeking the formation of a Gul Plaza tragedy inquiry commission by the federal government.
“The inquiry commission should uncover the facts and identify the culprits,” reads the letter.
The party, part of the ruling coalition in the Centre, wants the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), National Accountability Bureau (NAB), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Military Intelligence (MI), Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), National Engineering Services (Nespak) and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to be included in the inquiry commission.
Urging immediate takeover of the investigation and the relief and rescue operation of the Gul Plaza incident by the federal government, the MQM-P chief called for the constitution of a “relief and rehabilitation fund” for the affectees — to provide financial assistance to the families and victims.
Stressing that as many as 12,000 families had been affected directly by the incident, the letter holds provincial departments and municipal bodies responsible for the deaths and financial losses.
“The Sindh government, Karachi mayor, the SBCA and others have committed criminal negligence,” the letter claims.
Addressing a press conference today, MQM-P’s Dr Farooq Sattar said that the Gul Plaza tragedy has given rise to “serious questions”.
Firing a broadside at the Sindh government, Sattar said that instead of answering prevailing questions, the provincial government is misleading the masses.
The politician also asked about the reasons behind the delay in the CM’s visit to the incident site, who reached there after 20 to 22 hours.
“The Karachi mayor reached Gul Plaza after 23 hours,” he added.
“The real questions are these, answer them. You are diverting attention from the seriousness of the incident,” Sattar said while responding to the Sindh CM’s speech in the provincial assembly on Friday.
The MQM-P leader further went on to ask the provincial government about the number of fire stations it had established in its 18 years of rule, how many fire tenders were operational and otherwise.
Calling for across-the-board accountability, the MQM-P leader said that as many as 200 buildings, out of the 275, lacked necessary fire safety arrangements.
Meanwhile, officials say that efforts are underway to establish the identities of the remaining victims. They added that four digital video recorders (DVRs) were recovered from the rubble during the search operation, which could provide important evidence to determine the causes of the inferno.
They added that valuables were recovered during debris removal, including 1.5 kilogrammes of gold and more than Rs100,000 in cash from a basement shop, which were returned to their respective owners.
On Friday, District South Deputy Commissioner Javed Nabi Khoso said that 10-11 people remain missing. He further revealed that noted that the DVRs recovered from the site have been sent for forensic analysis.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, while addressing the provincial assembly a day earlier, said that a total of 88 people were initially reported missing; however, one later returned safely and five names were duplicated, bringing the number of those missing to 82.
Separately, Sindh Governor KamranTessori stated that he would write letters to the Chief Justices of the Supreme Court and the Sindh High Court (SHC) to conduct an inquiry into the fire incident.
“Those responsible should be identified and punished without delay,” he added.
His remarks came amid the ongoing rescue efforts, as teams continue to search for more missing persons from the devastating inferno that broke out last Saturday night.
Investigative sources said the fire broke out at a shop selling artificial flowers, where children present were reportedly playing at the time of the incident; however, the final cause has not been declared.
Criticising the Sindh government, the governor said that the administration cannot be absolved of responsibility for the Gul Plaza tragedy.
He also questioned the handling of the incident and its aftermath, saying that those who were responsible were not present at the site when they were needed.
Governor Tessori said that water tankers remained stuck in traffic near Guru Mandir, as highlighted by journalist Arshad Vohra.
“The administration is responsible. People pay taxes and are then expected to tolerate mismanagement. Such incidents will keep happening until all those responsible are punished,” the governor said.
