Karachi shopping plaza fire death toll reaches 28, another 80 missing
Karachi (PTI): At least 28 people have died in the fire at a shopping plaza in Pakistan’s Karachi with another 80 missing as rescue operations continued to locate them in the rubble of the old building on Tuesday.
Police Surgeon Summaiya Syed confirmed on Tuesday that so far 28 bodies had been brought to the Jinnah and civil hospitals while another 20 were still under treatment but in stable condition.
“Since Saturday night when the fire broke out, 28 bodies have been brought to the hospitals,” she said.
Syed said so far 18 bodies had been identified while DNA tests were also being carried out to confirm the identity of the others.
The fire broke out at a shop in the basement of the Gul Shopping Plaza, a wholesale and retail market, and quickly spread to the rest of the building.
Rescue 1122 Chief Operating Officer (COO) Abid Jalal said due to the intensity of the fire, which was only brought under control after nearly 34 hours, many portions of the dilapidated structure had collapsed.
“We have been given a list of some 80 people who are believed to be missing in the fire,” he said.
He added that some of them could be on the list of dead sent to hospitals since Saturday.
“The rescue operations are progressing slowly because of the condition of the building and there were around 1200 shops on all floors,” he said.
Relatives and families of the missing people have refused to leave the site of the building as they wait anxiously for news while the authorities have closed the M A Jinnah Road for all traffic.
Business owners and traders observed a one day mourning on Monday in remembrance of those who perished in the fire.
Tanweer Pasha, a senior official of the Gul Plaza shop owners association, estimated that the fire has caused losses of at least 3 billion PKR.
He said that the exact figure would only be known once the rescue operations are completed.
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No exit polls from 7 am of April 9 till 6.30 pm of April 29: EC
New Delhi (PTI): Exit polls can neither be held nor disseminated from 7 am of April 9 till 6.30 pm of April 29 for the five assembly elections taking place this month, the Election Commission has said.
It has also cautioned that conducting or broadcasting exit polls in the period is violative of section 126A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and is "punishable with imprisonment up to a period of two years, or with fine or both".
While Kerala, Assam and Puducherry going for assembly polls on April 9, the electoral exercise will be held in Tamil Nadu on April 23.
In West Bengal, state polls will be held on April 23 and 29.
While the 48 hour 'silence period' in Kerala and Puducherry will commence at 6 pm on Tuesday, it will kick in at 5 pm in Assam.
Silence period means end of campaigning 48 hours ahead of the end of voting hour in a particular constituency or the entire state.
Except door-to-door campaigning by a limited number of party workers or candidate, no other form of campaigning is allowed. But in a digital age, it is difficult to enforce.
Usually voting is held from 7 am to 6 pm. But the timing varies due to terrain and security situation.
