Twelve persons were killed and over 65 others injured when Gakkhar Plaza, the commercial hub of Rawalpindi, collapsed after fire erupted at the complex in the wee hours of Saturday.
Two more dead-bodies were recovered early Sunday from the debris of the six-story commercial plaza raising the toll up to 12. Some 40 people were trapped in the debris of the plaza when it collapsed Saturday noon.
All markets and shopping plazas in Saddar (Rawalpindi) had also been closed while Wapda suspended power supply to avoid any untoward incident and telephone lines in the area were also disturbed for hours. The six-storied Gakkhar Plaza had more than 500 shops and almost 400 stalls and kiosks and was the biggest center of garments, shoes, leather garments and goods in the metropolis, which were turned into ashes.
Soon after the collapse of the plaza, officers and Jawans of Pakistan Army reached the site along with heavy machinery and started rescue work. The citizens also joined hands with army to help remove the wreckage. President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani expressed deep grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives and property due to collapse of Gakkhar Plaza.
On the directive of the PM, the federal government rescue agencies including National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) undertook rescue operation to save human lives by extricating those trapped in the rubble. Shaukat Tahir, a senior NDMA official said that twelve of the injured were still being treated at the city hospitals, while others were discharged after getting treatment for their minor injuries.
He said the bodies retrieved from the rubble belong to fire fighters of Pakistan Ordnance Factories Wah, Rescue 1122 and the Fire Department of Rawalpindi.
He said that about 80 percent of Gakkhar Plaza had collapsed and 25 percent of the rubble was cleared so far. "The rubble clearance operation is expected to take almost a week", ha added. He said the fire services of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, including Rescue 1122 Rawalpindi, Cantonment Board Rawalpindi, Capital Development Authority (CDA), Civil Aviation Authority, Pakistan Ordnance Factories Wah and Bahria Town took part in the fire fighting and rescue operation, under the joint command of the District Government, Rawalpindi and the NDMA. A contingent of around 300 army personnel was rushed to the site to support the civilian fire fighting and rescue agencies, he added.
Meanwhile, chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif announced two million each for the heirs of martyred rescue workers, who embraced martyred during rescue operation in the fire, gutted Ghakhar Plaza.
In addition, a special investigating committee led by provincial Minister for Excise and Taxation Mujtaba Shujah-ur-Rehman has been constituted to assess the volume of losses, determine the actual cause of fire outbreak and matters relating to compensation to the heirs of the victims of this Gakkhar Plaza tragedy.