In pictures: Rescuers comb through wreckage of Karachi’s Gul Plaza following deadly fire

Rescue workers on Monday combed through the rubble and debris of Karachi’s Gul Plaza in the aftermath of a deadly fire over the weekend. The fire started late on Saturday at Gul Plaza, which houses 1,200 shops in a multi-storey complex. The blaze in Karachi’s historic centre raged for more than 24 hours before it was mostly extinguished. Videos showed flames ripping through the building as firefighters laboured through the night to put out the blaze. On Monday, they began cooling the structure and clearing twisted metal and debris strewn across the street, along with fallen air-conditioning units and shop signboards. A firefighter works next to the smoldering remains of Karachi’s Gul Plaza shopping mall on January 19, following a massive fire that broke out. — Reuters Police officers, rescue workers and shopkeepers gather at Karachi’s Gul Plaza shopping mall on January 19 after a massive fire broke out. — Reuters Rescue workers search for victims on January 19, following a massive fire that broke out in Karachi’s Gul Plaza Shopping Mall. — Reuters Workers remove debris on January 19 following a massive fire that broke out in Karachi’s Gul Plaza shopping mall. — Reuters Bystanders gather around Karachi’s Gul Plaza shopping mall on January 19, after a massive fire broke out, — AFP Smoke rises following a massive fire that broke out at Gul Plaza shopping mall, in Karachi on January 19. — Reuters Emergency personnel search for survivors at the Gul Plaza shopping mall in Karachi on January 19 after a massive fire broke out. — Reuters Rescue workers search the burned remains of Karachi’s Gul Plaza shopping mall on January 19 after a massive fire. — AFP An excavator removes debris at Karachi’s Gul Plaza shopping mall on January 19 following a massive fire that broke out. — Reuters A man walks past the debris of Karachi’s Gul Plaza shopping mall on January 19 following a massive fire that broke out over the weekend. — Reuters Firefighters perform a cooling operation on the burned remains of Karachi’s Gul Plaza shopping mall on January 19 after a massive fire. — AFP A rescue worker searches for survivors amid the rubble of Karachi’s Gul Plaza shopping mall on January 19, after a massive fire broke out. — Reuters Shopkeepers observe rescue operations at Karachi’s Gul Plaza shopping mall on January 19, following a massive fire that broke out. — Reuters Rescue workers search amid the debris using excavators after a massive fire at a shopping mall in Karachi on January 19. — AFP Fire fighters and rescue workers perform a cooling operation amid the debris after a massive fire at a shopping mall in Karachi on January 19. — AFP Rescue workers search amid the debris after a massive fire at a shopping mall in Karachi on January 19. — AFP Header image: Workers remove debris on January 19 following a massive fire that broke out in Gul Plaza Shopping Mall in Karachi. — Reuters