Islamabad, March 23 (IANS) Pakistani authorities suspect that drug addicts trying to steal copper from the basement may have caused the renewed fire incident at Karachi’s Gul Plaza, local media reported.

On Sunday, the basement of Gul Plaza was engulfed in flames again, nearly two months after a deadly blaze at the same site claimed over 70 lives.

Following the incident, the Acting Deputy Commissioner South, Amir Fazal Owaisi, said that the fire was probably caused by drug addicts, with further investigations underway.

According to Owaisi, the police and fire teams discovered several individuals inside the building upon arrival at the site, reportedly having entered to steal wires and other materials, Pakistani daily Express Tribune reported.

Reports suggest that one person was found unconscious in the basement.

Nabi Bakhsh Police stated that the injured person, a drug addict, had entered Gul Plaza alongside accomplices with the intention to steal.

Police suspect the fire erupted when the suspects tried to extract copper by burning wires found in the debris.

The injured man was trapped in the flames, while his accomplices managed to flee. The victim, who was bleeding from the ears and nose, has been taken to Civil Hospital for medical treatment.

Recently, Gul Plaza Mall Management Committee President Tanveer Pasta told Pakistan’s judicial commission investigating the devastating January 17 fire at Gul Plaza Mall that rescue services arrived late and failed to evacuate people trapped inside during the crucial early hours of the blaze.

He made the remarks while submitting his response to a questionnaire from the single-judge commission, headed by Justice Agha Faisal of the Sindh High Court, claiming that the building’s exits were open and functional during the incident.

Describing the rescue efforts as very slow, Pasta said, “The rescue services had actually become active after Fajr prayers, but by that time it was already too late, as the fire had become uncontrollable,” Pakistani daily Dawn reported.

“The responders had no tools/masks/equipment to enter inside the building and to rescue the survivors from the mezzanine floor. Even no foam to combat the fire was available. In fact, no attempt was made by the responders to rescue the survivors in the first few hours of the fire,” he alleged.

The massive fire that erupted at Gul Plaza on the night of January 17 triggered public outrage, with people slamming the Sindh government and the Karachi Mayor for the delayed action.

–IANS

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