KARACHI: The president of the Gul Plaza Association, Tanveer Pasta, has submitted a written statement to the judicial commission investigating the Gul Plaza fire incident, highlighting serious shortcomings in the emergency response.
In his statement, Pasta claimed that the slow arrival of rescue teams and inadequate firefighting arrangements played a major role in the loss of lives.
He said the first fire brigade vehicle reached the site at about 10:55 pm, but its water supply ran out within roughly 20 minutes. Two more fire tenders arrived around 11:30 pm, by which time the flames had already spread across the entire ground floor of the building.
Pasta also pointed out that rescue workers lacked essential gear such as breathing masks and protective equipment, which prevented them from entering the smoke-filled structure during the initial stages to save those trapped inside.
According to him, firefighters were also without foam or chemical agents needed to extinguish the blaze effectively, making it harder to control the spreading fire.
He said the market administration arranged private water tankers on its own, while tankers from the Water Corporation reached the location only after dawn.
Pasta further stated that rescue operations during the night were extremely slow, and significant emergency action began only after sunrise, when the fire had already grown more intense.
He added that once the locations of some trapped individuals became known, a few were rescued through personal efforts, but many others could not be saved due to the absence of proper rescue facilities.
