The Karachi commissioner has completed the final investigation report into the Gul Plaza tragedy, concluding that the fire was accidentally started by a child at a flower shop on the building’s ground floor, resulting in 79 deaths.
According to sources, the report contains details gathered from victims, eyewitnesses and rescue officials, along with comprehensive information on the causes of the fire and the rescue and firefighting response.
The investigation report was prepared by a committee comprising the Karachi commissioner and the additional inspector general and will be formally presented to the chief minister of Sindh.
As per the report, the fire broke out at 10:15 am, while the authorities received information at 10:26 am, and the first fire tender reached Gul Plaza within 11 minutes.
The report states that the first fire tender arrived at the scene at 10:37 am, while the deputy commissioner South reached Gul Plaza at 10:30 am, and Rescue 1122 personnel arrived at 10:53 am.
The report revealed that the fire originated in a flower shop on the ground floor due to the actions of a child and spread rapidly through the building via air-conditioning ducts.
According to the report, the blaze claimed 79 lives, with most of the fatalities occurring on the mezzanine floor of Gul Plaza.
Meanwhile, funeral prayers were offered for the remaining two victims of the Gul Plaza tragedy from Delhi Colony, a woman identified as Kausar Parveen and a man named Ashraf, at Shamim Mosque in Delhi Colony.
Six members of the same family had been burnt to death in the Gul Plaza fire, while funeral prayers for four of them had already been offered on January 25.
The remains of Kausar Parveen and Mohammad Ashraf were identified a day earlier with the help of DNA testing.
Reporters: Shoaib Mukhtar and Salman Saleem