‘Is this an accident or just plain indifference?’ — Celebrities furious after fire at Karachi’s Gul Plaza kills 23
Celebrity reactions to the blaze continued to pour in as more than 60 remained missing.
Karachi was lashed by heavy rain and winds in excess of 90 kilometres per hour on Wednesday night, plunging much of the city into darkness and claiming at least 16 lives.
The internet was soon flooded with clips of the chaos brought about by the storm, with trees uprooted, vehicles overturned and random objects hurled across the city’s roads by powerful gusts of wind.
Mahira Khan, who happened to be on set when the rain started, shared a video showing part of the set collapsing and crew members rushing to take shelter.
Adnan Siddiqui and Fahad Mustafa were filming Jeeto Pakistan when the studio’s roof began to leak, almost causing Mustafa to slip and fall. The rain, however, did not dampen their spirits, as Siddiqui shared a lighthearted moment of them making the best of a bad situation.
Meanwhile in another part of the city, chand raat festivities were disrupted at The Commons and Locate Bazaar, two of the more prominent festivals part of Karachi’s pre-Eid celebrations. Attendees had to seek shelter as debris from food and jewellery stalls was swept up by the wind.
People reported that some restaurants with outdoor seating were ravaged by the storm.
Actor Agha Ali was at home when the rain started, but that didn’t mean he was safe from it. The star shared clips of water seeping in through the windows of his 12th-floor apartment. His solution, which wasn’t 100 per cent effective, involved a towel and dumbbells.
People sent Karachiites thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. TV host Shaista Lodhi prayed for God’s mercy while Sonya Hussyn recounted scenes of destruction as she was coming home after the storm.
Architect Marvi Mazhar questioned the implementation of the 2022 orders of the Sindh High Court regarding the removal of billboards in line with a Supreme Court ruling from 2018.
In a thread on X, she said the city’s susceptibility to heavy winds made the advertisement hoardings a public safety hazard, but they remained a part of the city’s skyline “by quiet compromises and policy backtracking”.
She added that Wednesday’s storm was not the first time weather conditions had made billboards a threat to people’s lives and questioned whether lessons learned in the past were “ignored, or deliberately forgotten”.
This is unfortunately not the first time rain has wreaked havoc on Karachi and it’s unlikely to be the last. As Pakistan’s largest city picks up the pieces after yet another disastrous downpour, many are worried what the upcoming monsoon season will bring.
Cover Photo: Fahim Siddiqi/White Star