On the night of 17 January 2026 at 22:15 PKT, a major fire broke out at the Gul Plaza shopping centre on Muhammad Ali Jinnah Road in Karachi, Pakistan.[3][4] The blaze spread rapidly through the multistory commercial building, resulting in 80 deaths, numerous injuries and extensive damage.
Gul Plaza was a multi-storey shopping complex located on Muhammad Ali Jinnah Road in Karachi's Saddar area, which housed approximately 1,200 shops selling garments, electronics, cosmetics and household goods spread across three storeys, a mezzanine, and the basement.[5][6][7] The complex was situated on an area of over 6,500m2 (70,000sqft).[8]
According to the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), the building was originally constructed in 1979, had a revised plan approved in 1998, and was "duly regularised" under the 2001 Regularisation Amendment Ordinance in 2003. In 2005, a revised No Objection Certificate for sale and advertisement was issued, approved for 1,102 shops spread across the basement, ground, first, second, and third floors.[9][10]
According to The Express Tribune, Gul Plaza had four gas connections: two commercial, one industrial, and one domestic. The industrial connection, used to operate chillers, was suspended in November 2025. At the time of fire, gas load-shedding was in effect, possibly lessening the impact of the gas on the fire.[11]
The last fire inspections of the building were conducted by the Directorate General of Civil Defence in 2024 and 2025. A technical instructor working for Civil Defence testified that deficiencies were found in the building's fire safety measures, but a challan could not be filed with a special court, as the court was unavailable. Though the court become available in July 2025, no challan was filed.[12]
Thirteen of Gul Plaza's 16 exits were locked, as it was near closing time.[6] The windows were either blocked with inventory or sealed off.[13] There were no emergency exits, smoke alarms, fire hoses, fire extinguishers, or fire sprinkler systems in the building.[14][15] A Sub-Fire Officer commented, "If they had a fire extinguisher in the first shop where the fire initially erupted, they could have put it out there and then."[15]
Fire
Authorities at the site after the fire
The fire started at around 22:15 PKT on the ground floor of the building and quickly spread to the upper levels due to the presence of flammable materials and limited ventilation.[16][17] The fire started in a shop selling artificial flowers and pots.[18] According to Dawn, the shop owner told investigators that his two sons, both minors, were playing in his shop while he was away, and they threw a lit match into the shop without putting it out before leaving. The shop housed combustible material which caught fire.[19] This was confirmed by the investigative committee.[20] The fire spread rapidly through air-conditioning duct to the rest of the building.[20][21]
According to a Gul Plaza shopkeeper, "The building had caught fire about ten times before, so we initially thought this was normal."[22] A grille installed over the rooftop exit obstructed an escape route.[1] A survivor testified, "It is further added that until the time of my falling conscious, there was no announcement of the fire made, nor did any person come to rescue the trapped people inside the building, either from the management side or from any government agency."[23]
The first call to emergency services was placed at 22:26, and two fire vehicles were dispatched to the location. They classified it as a Grade 3 fire – "the highest category for an urban area", according to a provincial spokesman – and a city-wide emergency was declared by 22:45.[24] According to Dawn, the authorities responded slowly and with only "limited resources" to extinguish the fire. As a result, the blaze is said to have burned "uncontrolled for hours".[25] Responders cut through windows and destroyed walls using hammers to get inside.[18] Power to the building was cut by K-Electric after the fire broke out.[26]
Firefighters from the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and Rescue 1122 battled the blaze for several hours. Multiple sections of the building collapsed during firefighting operations.[27] The Pakistan Navy sent a fire brigade.[10] After nearly 36 hours of continuous efforts, the fire was finally brought under control on 19 January.[28]
Casualties
At least 80 people were confirmed dead,[29] including a firefighter, 36-year-old Furqan Ali, who was killed in a structural collapse that also injured another firefighter.[30] He was based in Nazimabad Fire Station and started working for the KMC Fire Department in 2018.[15] More than 20 people were injured,[31] while 49 were reported missing during rescue operations.[2] According to a rescuer, the boiling water used to douse the fire caused severe burns to several victims.[32]
In several cases, only body parts were recovered, while DNA testing had to be conducted to identify some victims.[33] On 21 January, 30 bodies were retrieved from a crockery shop on the mezzanine floor. The victims were suffocated after locking themselves in the shop awaiting rescue.[34][35][36] According to Dawn, the shop had announced a sale for the wedding season, leading to a large number of people in the shop. Furthermore, the shop had decided to close at 02:00 instead of the usual 22:00 due to the sale.[35]
Response
The Sindh government called the fire a "national tragedy".[25] It announced compensation of 10 million rupees (US$35,000) for the families of the deceased,[4][37] ordered an inquiry into the incident and established a helpline for families of missing persons. Hospitals across the city were placed on emergency alert.[38]
The police registered a first information report on 24 January, in which they called the fire an "outcome of negligence and carelessness".[39]
Aftermath
The complex was heavily damaged and partially collapsed.[25] The neighbouring Rimpa Plaza was declared unsafe by the SBCA after it was damaged by debris from Gul Plaza.[40]
The fire caused extensive economic losses to shop owners and renewed debate over fire safety compliance in Karachi's commercial buildings.[41][10] According to the Press Trust of India, a senior official of the Gul Plaza's shop owners association estimated economic losses of at least 3 billion rupees.[42] According to Arab News, the losses were exacerbated by the upcoming Ramadan and wedding seasons – which is typically the apex of sales for traders in Gul Plaza – so they had much more merchandise in stock than usual.[43]
The search for people was hampered by the risk of further collapse of the buildings.[25] On 22 January, people gathered outside the plaza and staged a protest, criticising the slow pace of the search operation.[19]AI-generated images claiming to depict the fire spread on social media.[44]
The search operation concluded on 27 January and the building was sealed.[45]
Sindh chief minister Murad Ali Shah stated that shops will be built on the site within two years, and the rest of the building will be demolished.[46] In mid-February, Karachi mayor Murtaza Wahab announced that the city had set up temporary shops for 300 traders that had lost their shops in the fire.[47]
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