Portugal Colonial - Pakistan rescuers scour blaze site for dozens missing

Four days after the fire ripped through the three-storey Gul Plaza, police in the coastal city have confirmed at least 29 people were killed. But the toll is expected to rise considerably.

"With the help of the police, we have verified 39 missing persons as yet," Karachi south's deputy commissioner, Javed Nabi Khoso, told AFP.

Nearly 50 others listed as missing are yet to be verified.

Families have criticised authorities for the slow recovery operation at the mall, where AFP journalists saw at least five human remains recovered on Wednesday.

At the Civil Hospital Karachi, provincial health official Summaiya Syed said DNA samples from 51 families had been taken so far.

"We will hand over the bodies (remains) to the family, once DNA samples are matched," she told journalists outside the hospital mortuary.

-'Some comfort, some peace' -

Muhammad Saleem, 50, said his family had decided not to take the remains home if his three missing relatives are identified.

"They are bringing only remains wrapped inside clothes," he told AFP.

"Our family members still believe that they are alive. They will go mad, if they see these remains. We will not show them to anyone and will bury them," he said at the hospital.

Faraz Ali, whose father and 26-year-old brother were inside the mall, said he wants "the bodies to be recovered and handed over to their rightful families".

"That is all so that the families may receive something, some comfort, some peace. At least let us see them one last time, in whatever condition they are, so that we may say our final goodbye," the 28-year-old told AFP.

Out of the 29 victims transferred from the hospital to the Edhi Foundation morgue for identification, only seven have been DNA-matched and handed over to the families.

Fires are common in Karachi's markets and factories, which are known for their poor infrastructure, but a blaze on such a scale is rare.

A government committee has launched an investigation, but the cause of the inferno was not immediately clear.

The mall housed at least 1,200 shops and was famous for wedding stores and home decor.

O.Gaspar--PC