Screen grab of a video of shared by Shaj71 on X
Karachi, Pakistan: Atleast six people have been killed in a massive fire that engulfed the Gul Plaza shopping mall in Karachi on Saturday night. Hours after it erupted, the blaze had yet to be fully brought under control, according to updates shared by Pakistani newspaper Dawn. 
Firefighters douse a fire that broke out at a shopping mall in Karachi on January 18, 2026. (Photo by Rizwan Tabassum / AFP)
Media reports said that the initial death toll of three later rose to six, with around 20 people injured in the incident. Officials stated that the fire had been brought under control by about 30 percent and noted that the mall houses around 1,200 shops.
Spokesperson of the southern Sindh province, Sadia Javed, told Xinhua that the blaze erupted at Gul Plaza, a multi-storey shopping mall located on the MA Jinnah Road, which houses over 1,200 shops.
The spokesperson added that the firefighting teams have been working consistently to control the 3rd-degree fire, which spread to several floors of the plaza.
Firefighters douse a fire that broke out at a shopping mall in Karachi on January 18, 2026. (Photo by Rizwan Tabassum / AFP)
An official from Rescue 1122, Hassaanul Haseeb Khan, said that firefighting efforts had managed to control about 40 percent of the blaze by early Sunday morning.
"The majority of the shops contain goods such as crockery, clothing, electrical appliances, cosmetics and perfumes, which intensified the fire," said the rescue official, adding that a section of the plaza collapsed and a rescue worker was buried under it.
The rescue official said that several people are still trapped in the building and efforts are being made to rescue them.
Police officials said the fire initially broke out in shops on the ground floor of the building and appeared to have been caused by a short circuit before spreading to other parts of the mall.
The Edhi Foundation, whose personnel are participating in the rescue efforts, told Dawn that part of the building had collapsed due to the intensity of the fire. 
*With inputs from Xinhua
