Death toll in Karachi mall fire rises to at least 14 in Pakistan

More than 50 people remain missing, with a police investigation under way to determine the cause of the fire.Published On 19 Jan 2026The death toll from a fire at a shopping mall in Karachi over the weekend has risen to at least 14, according to Pakistani authorities, as the search for more than 50 missing people continues.South deputy inspector general of police, Syed Asad Raza, told the Dawn newspaper on Monday that eight more bodies had been recovered since Sunday evening by rescue personnel, taking the death toll from six to 14.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Pakistan court sentences journalists to life over 2023 pro-Khan protestslist 2 of 3Why is the sale of Pakistan’s national airline stirring a political storm?list 3 of 3How Pakistan’s Asim Munir became Trump’s ‘favourite field marshal’end of listPolice surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed told the daily that a total of five bodies had been brought to a local hospital.Police and rescue teams were using mobile phone data to trace the 54 to 59 missing people and have contacted families to collect details.Karachi is Pakistan’s largest city and the capital of the southern Sindh province.Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori, who visited the site on Monday, told local media that “more than 70” people were missing.“The reports of more than 70 missing persons are extremely alarming and constitute a major tragedy,” said Tessori, adding that the incident has now “turned into a national tragedy”.The fire broke out late on Saturday at the Gul Plaza shopping mall, a densely packed commercial complex. Firefighters managed to bring the massive blaze under control after about 36 hours, allowing rescue teams to enter the building to rescue those trapped inside.However, officials warned that the building is now extremely unstable and could collapse at any moment.Later on Monday, rescue chief operating officer Abid Jalal told Dawn that firefighting efforts had restarted, as flames continued to emerge on a portion of the mall.