Karachi [Pakistan], January 19 (ANI): The death toll from the devastating fire at Gul Plaza shopping centre on M A Jinnah Road has reached to 14 on Monday (local time) as rescue teams recovered more bodies from the ruins and battled lingering flames rising from the smouldering debris, reports Dawn.

The blaze, which erupted late Saturday night (local time), reduced much of the multi-storey complex to rubble and took firefighters more than 24 hours to control. Flames were still visible deep within the wreckage, forcing crews to proceed with caution while the 'cooling process' continued and debris was cleared.

South Deputy Inspector General Syed Asad Raza confirmed that rescue personnel had pulled eight more bodies during the latest phase of operations, bringing the confirmed fatalities to 14. Officials said many of the recovered remains were unidentifiable and that DNA testing would be needed for proper identification, reported Dawn.

Fire Officer Zafar Khan said, 'Fire safety operation has been completed. Cooling process has now started with the removal of debris from the site...' as workers from city authorities and the Pakistan Navy continued clearing wreckage.

Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori, who visited the site, described the high number of missing persons as 'extremely alarming and constitute a major tragedy', noting that more than 60 people were still unaccounted for.

Traders and shop owners, many of whom have lost their businesses, criticised authorities for what they called a 'delayed and inadequate response', saying that quicker action could have saved lives and livelihoods.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but preliminary reports suggest it may have started due to electrical faults before rapidly spreading through the densely packed marketplace.

Families of the missing have been urged to contact government helplines and visit designated centres to provide DNA samples as efforts to identify victims continue. (ANI)