Karachi hotel fire: Police lodge case against owners, management

KARACHI: Police on Thursday lodged a case against the owners and management of Regent Plaza Hotel in Karachi after a fire claimed at least 12 lives earlier the week.

An investigative report also declared the hotel administration and civil defence responsible for the tragedy.

The report, which was presented to Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah, claimed there was a severe dearth of safety measures at the hotel for dealing with emergency incidents such as fire.

There were no trained personnel at the hotel for extinguishing the fire and emergency exits were closed, police sources said in the report.

The fire alarms present in the hotel did not meet quality standards. There were no arrangements in place to open windows in the event of a fire breakout, police stated.

The hotel also did not have prominent emergency exits or folding ladders, police said.

Fire extinguishing measures at the hotel were not up to international standards, the report said. 

12 people were killed and more than 110 injured in a blaze in a private hotel at Shahrah-e-Faisal on Monday. According to hotel sources, the fire broke out at 3AM in the kitchen located in the basement of the hotel and travelled through the air conditioning ducts, engulfing a major part of the hotel in flames.