A rescue operation is underway after a fire broke out on Friday at Kawish Plaza on Karachi’s Sharea Faisal Road, a Rescue 1122 spokesperson said in a statement.

“People of the building have climbed onto the rooftop and they will be rescued soon,” the statement said.

The fire initially broke out in the generator on the second floor, making the rescue operation difficult due to the smoke.

“As soon as the Central Command and Control Rescue 1122 received the information, the Fire and Rescue Team, along with one ambulance and three fire brigade trucks, reached the scene,” the statement added.

According to the spokesperson, Rescue 1122 is trying to control the fire as soon as possible.

Sindh Minister for Rehabilitation Makhdoom Mehboobuz Zaman has also instructed the rescue operation to be expedited, according to a statement by his spokesperson.

Fire incidents are common in the metropolis due to the absence of adequate fire safety measures in buildings.

Last month, thirty shops were gutted when a huge fire erupted in a commercial building in Clifton early in the morning.

Four people, including one firefighter, were affected by smoke inhalation and twelve fire tenders worked for four hours to bring the fire under control.

In February last year, the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) informed the Sindh High Court that it had conducted a fire safety audit of over 265 commercial buildings, and not a single one was found to have a fire safety certificate or a no-objection certificate (NOC) issued by the fire brigade department.

Out of 265 buildings, around 155 did not have fire alarms and smoke detectors installed while the status of nine such buildings was not available in this respect, the KMC report added.

Similarly, the condition of the wiring and electric system of over 155 buildings was termed unsatisfactory. Regarding access to firefighting equipment, the report said that around 200 buildings had no or unsatisfactory firefighting equipment.

The SHC had directed provincial authorities to ensure that relevant teams inspect all shopping malls in the city to ascertain safety standards in place.

The bench expressed resentment over several fire-related incidents that recently occurred at shopping and commercial malls/buildings in the metropolis.

The court had passed such directives in a case related to a fire at a shopping mall on Rashid Minhas Road in 2023. At least 11 people were killed while five others were injured after a blaze erupted inside the R.J. Shopping Mall because of a suspected short circuit.