India, Jan. 22 -- The death toll in the fire at a shopping plaza in Pakistan's Karachi increased to 30 on Wednesday even as 73 persons, including 16 minor boys, remained missing amid continued rescue operations, officials said here. The fire broke out in the basement of the Gul Shopping Plaza, a wholesale and retail market, and quickly spread to the rest of the building in the Saddar area on January 17 night.

The fire was brought under control only after nearly 36 hours. Sindh police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed confirmed that the death toll from the fire had risen to 30 as two more bodies were recovered from the rubble on Wednesday morning. "The bodies were taken to Jinnah Hospital this morning which takes the casualties to 30. We have been...