KARACHI: Inhalational asphyxia/suffocation was the predominant cause of death in the tragic Gul Plaza fire that claimed at least 73 lives, according to Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed.

The deadly inferno, which erupted on the night of January 17 at the mall, took nearly two days to be fully extinguished and left over 1,100 shops in ruins. Despite 10 days of hectic search efforts amid the rubble, at least eight people remained missing.

Dr Syed submitted a reply to a questionnaire from the judicial commission probing the blaze, it emerged on Tuesday.

Asked what the dominant cause of loss of life was, in her professional opinion, the police surgeon stated: “The predominant cause of loss of life was inhalational asphyxia/suffocation.”

However, she added, polytrauma could not be ruled out in 66 others “due to fragmented remains”. Polytrauma is a medical condition involving multiple severe injuries.

Detailing the findings, Dr Syed said, “Inhalational asphyxia was established as the primary medical cause of death in the six complete bodies.”

“Lethal fire (suffocation) was established as [the] primary cause of death in the 66 remains,” she added, noting that the 66 remains were “fragmentary and 100 per cent burnt”.

As per the police surgeon’s reply, eight were injured, seven bodies were recovered, and the remains of 66 others were found.

Responding to a question of whether the findings “suggest delayed evacuation or prolonged entrapment”, Dr Syed provided the chronological details of the bodies and remains recovered:

• 6 bodies received on January 18
• 15 fragmentary remains received on January 19
• 8 fragmentary burnt remains received on January 20
• 23 fragmentary remains received on January 21
• 16 fragmentary remains received on January 22
• 2 fragmentary remains received on January 23

The document does not specify when three of the “total 73” bodies were recovered.

Asked if the condition of the victims indicated a lack of timely rescue, the police surgeon said, “Rescue implies safe evacuation of alive persons. We received eight injured.”

“The undersigned cannot comment in this regard,” she added, noting that chronological details of the remains’ recovery have been provided.

On the question of whether any toxic gases or unusual substances were detected, Dr Syed noted that the results for toxicology samples collected from seven deceased were still awaited.

Post-mortems were not conducted for the six bodies recovered. However, most of the remains were “completely processed”.

All medicological reports were duly prepared and forwarded, the police surgeon stated.

So far, various stakeholders have testified before the judicial commission, including two key witnesses, four prosecution witnesses, the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), and the chief fire officer.

The fire chief had blamed the Gul Plaza administration for the loss of life due to the lack of implementation of fire safety protocols.

However, Gul Plaza Management Committee President Tanveer Pasta told the commission that rescue services had arrived late and made no attempt to evacuate the people.