Shops on lower and top floors of shopping mall safe, says fire dept’s report

All the underground 20 shops of the RJ Shopping Mall, where 11 persons died in a blaze on Saturday morning, are safe. Similarly, 210 shops on the first floor of the plaza are also secure, says a preliminary report issued by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s (KMC) fire department.

The report said offices on the second floor of the building and food court had been partially damaged due to the fire. Sixty-five offices on the third floor had been burnt while of the 65 offices on the fourth floor, 20 remain intact.

All the offices on the fifth and sixth floors are safe. During the fire at RJ Mall, 45 office employees were present. The blaze caused a thick smoke resulting in people getting stuck. The report said the fire brigade did not timely receive information about the fire. Eleven individuals passed away in the tragic incident.

The report said there were no safe exits or fire-fighting equipment present at the mall. It claimed that when the fire brigade was informed about the fire, it had already reached the third and fourth floors, emitting dense smoke that made it challenging for the fire brigade to work.

Eight fire tenders participated in the extinguishing operation along with two water bowsers. The Pakistan Navy also participated in the operation while the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) provided water through tankers.