The death toll from a massive fire at a shopping plaza in Karachi rose to 23 on Monday as rescuers recovered more bodies from the badly damaged building, police said. Dozens remain missing.

Pakistani firefighters began pulling bodies from the smouldering remains of a sprawling Karachi shopping mall on Monday where more than 60 people were still missing after a massive fire that killed at least 21.

Karachi’s deadliest fire in years raises urgent questions about building safety, rescue capacity and urban governance.

Karachi, the capital of Sindh province, has a history of deadly fires, often blamed on poor safety standards and illegal construction. In November 2023, a fire at a shopping mall in the city killed 10 people and injured 22 others. A massive fire at a garment factory in Karachi in 2012 killed 260 people.

A massive fire at Karachi’s Gul Plaza has killed at least 26 people, with dozens still missing, triggering questions over building safety and emergency preparedness.

The blaze, which killed at least 23 and left dozens more missing during “wedding season,” burned all night and day through a Karachi plaza with hundreds of shops.

Hundreds of people had gathered around the building, including distraught store owners whose businesses had turned to ash.