At least nine people killed in Pakistan shopping mall fire

AFP

A fire tore through a shopping mall in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi, killing at least nine people, officials and local media said on Saturday.

Local broadcaster Geo News said the blaze started early in the morning at the multi-storey RJ shopping mall in Pakistan's most populous city, and that the fire brigade had rescued around 50 people but more remained inside the building.

Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab Siddiqui confirmed in a post on social media platform X that at least nine bodies had been transferred to local hospitals after the fire.

"Search process continues," he added.

The cause of the blaze was not immediately clear. Geo reported several people injured in the fire were also being treated in hospital.

More from International news

  • Australia passes social media ban for children under 16

    Australia on Thursday passed into law a social media ban for children aged under 16 after an emotive debate that gripped the nation, setting a benchmark for jurisdictions around the world with one of the toughest regulations targeting Big Tech.

  • 17 killed as Israel ups bombing in Gaza

    Israeli military strikes killed at least 17 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, medics said, as forces stepped up bombardments on central areas and pushed tanks deeper in the north and south of the enclave.

  • Israeli tank fires on south Lebanon

    Israeli tank fire hit six areas in southern Lebanon on Thursday and the Israeli military said its ceasefire with Hezbollah was breached after what it called suspects, some in vehicles, arrived at several areas in the southern zone.

  • Landslides in Indonesia's Sumatra kill at least 27

    Indonesian rescuers are searching for passengers trapped in a minibus buried in mud after flash floods and landslides hit several locations in North Sumatra province, killing at least 27, an official said on Thursday.

News