A fire at a shopping center in the Pakistan city of Karachi has killed six people as firefighters continue to battle the blaze.
Parts of the Gul Plaza, containing 1,200 stores and spanning 8,000 sq m (86,111 sq ft), have collapsed, which officers said was hampering rescue efforts.
One firefighter is among the dead, and more than 20 people have been injured, with fears that some are still trapped inside the multi-storey mall.
Local emergency services reported that when they arrived at the site on Saturday, the fire from the ground floor had spread to the upper floors, and almost the entire building was already engulfed in flames.
A senior police official noted that the authorities had been unable to search the building for bodies as the fire continued to burn.
More than 30 people have been reported missing by their families, who have gathered outside what remains of the center, waiting anxiously for news about their loved ones. City administrators have set up a desk to register details of the missing.
Smoke was still billowing from the remains of the Gul Plaza building on Sunday morning. Much of it had collapsed, raising concerns about further structural failure.
Hassan Khan, spokesperson for Rescue 1122 in Karachi, explained that the shopping center housed highly flammable materials including plastic foam, cloth, carpets, and perfume.
Summaiya Syed, Karachi's police surgeon, stated that six bodies had been transferred to the city's Civil Hospital along with some of the injured. She added that the police were invoking mass disaster protocols.
In response to the tragedy, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari expressed condolences and instructed the Sindh provincial government to conduct a thorough review of safety arrangements in both commercial and residential buildings across the area.
