Death toll in Karachi mall fire climbs to around 50

Pakistani firefighters on Wednesday retrieved the bodies of up to 25 people from the debris of a shopping mall fire in Karachi, taking the death toll to around 50.



The port city's largest fire in more than a decade broke out late on Saturday and quickly spread through the sprawling Gul Plaza shopping complex, famous for its 1,200 family-owned stores selling wedding clothes, toys, crockery and other goods.



"We have found 20 to 25 dead bodies, or you call them remains," Deputy Commissioner Javed Nabi Khoso told reporters. He said the remains ⁠had been taken to a hospital for DNA matching.



Due to the difficulties in identification, he said it was difficult to give a precise update on the death toll, which stood at 29 on Tuesday.



A small crowd paying tribute to the victims lit candles near the site, with some holding images of those presumed killed.