Overview
- Fire broke out late Saturday at Gul Plaza and burned for more than a day, leaving parts of the multi-storey complex collapsed and the site structurally unsafe.
- Authorities report at least 14 fatalities with estimates of 54 to 65 people unaccounted for, while dozens of injured were treated and many discharged from hospitals.
- Officials say an electrical fault is suspected but a formal investigation is underway, with directives for stricter fire-safety enforcement and audits of commercial buildings.
- Firefighters cited flammable stock, sealed windows, poor ventilation and missing emergency exits or extinguishers as factors that accelerated the blaze and hindered evacuations.
- A large multi-agency operation deployed more than 20 fire tenders, snorkels and water bowsers; missing persons desks and phone location tracing are being used to aid the search.