KARACHI: The death toll from a devastating fire at a shopping mall in Pakistan’s largest city of Karachi climbed to 73 on Sunday, the Edhi rescue service said, following the recovery of the remains of two more persons.
The development came as rescuers and volunteers continued to comb through the debris at Gul Plaza, a densely packed commercial complex in the heart of Karachi where a deadly fire erupted on Jan. 17, for remains of the victims.
Over the past week, family members of more than a dozen missing persons have stayed near the destroyed plaza and hospital even after providing their DNA samples for testing, with some relatives also criticizing authorities for the slow pace of rescue efforts.
“The death toll in the Gul Plaza tragedy has reached 73,” the Edhi rescue service said in a statement on Sunday night. “The remains of two more bodies were shifted to the Edhi morgue today.”
There was no official comment on the increase in death toll.
