KARACHI: While investigators probing fire that broke out in a six-storey shopping mall on Rashid Minhas Road on Saturday sought help from technical experts, Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab on Monday ordered a ‘fire security audit’ of all high-rises located along three major arteries of the city.

Eleven people were suffocated to death due to lack of ventilation and emergency exits in the multi-storey building.

A notification issued by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) on Monday said that inspection teams had been constituted to conduct the audit of all major buildings in Karachi within 15 days.

However, the mayor said that buildings located on I.I Chundrigar Road, Sharea Faisal and Shahrah-i-Quaideen/Tariq Road would be inspected in the first phase.

The notification said that Chief Fire Officer Ishtiaque Ahmed will inspect buildings along Sharea Faisal, while Muhammad Humayon and Ghulam Fakhruddin will inspects high-rises on I.I. Chundrigar Road Sna Shahrah-i-Quaideen and Tariq Road.

The terms of reference are: To assess fire safety measures including escape routes and emergency exits; basic fire safety equipment including smoke detectors, fire watch guards, fire extinguishers, fire hose, etc; electric wiring and general condition of electrical equipment, electric meters including switches, plugs, etc; to make recommendations to the building managements.

High-rises on I.I. Chundrigar Road, Sharea Faisal and Tariq Road will be inspected in first phase

The mayor said action would be taken against those buildings which were found without any fire exit.

Investigators visit sealed building

An investigation team, lead by the DIG-East, visited the sealed building on Monday to collect evidence, etc.

SSP-Investigation Amir Saud Magsi told reporters that the inquiry was being conducted from every aspect.

“We have included one engineer in the team,” he said, adding that they observed many things which would be included in their report.

He said that they had also decided to seek help from fire, explosives and electricity experts.

“Soon we would visit the building with experts and engineers,” he said, adding that it would be premature to say with certainty as to how and where the fire erupted from.

The investigators would be in a better position to explain things when the final report would be compiled, he added.

He said there were some things which were missing but a transparent probe would be conducted and responsible persons would be taken to task.

“A strict legal action would be taken in the light of the inquiry report,” he said, adding: “We’re trying to complete the probe as soon as possible.”

FIR not lodged in haste, says SSP

The SSP claimed the police had not registered the FIR in haste.

He added that a delay might have weakened the case before a court of law.

He clarified that the FIR contained only information about the situation/events that surfaced during an initial probe.

The SSP said that the building would remain sealed till the visit of experts and collection of evidence from it.

Meanwhile, the shopkeepers of the shopping mall arranged Quran khwani for the 11 persons who died in the incident.

They installed banners outside the mall, expressing regret over the deaths of their employees, which also contained slogans for early completion of the probe so that they could resume their business.

They also demanded unsealing of the building at the earliest.

Meanwhile, the K-Electric (KE) on Monday claimed that the fire had erupted in the internal wiring of the shopping mall’s building and not in its infrastructure.

“Initial investigation revealed no involvement of K-Electric’s infrastructure,” said a spokesperson for the power utility in a statement. “The fire erupted from the internal wiring and spread to other parts of the mall. It is pertinent to note that the mall’s internal wiring is out of KE’s jurisdiction.”

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2023