Three dead as fire engulfs shopping centre in Pakistan

People gather as firefighters try to control the fire (Mohammad Farooq/AP)

A fire swept through a multi-storey shopping centre in the southern Pakistan city of Karachi on Saturday, killing at least three people and injuring about a dozen others, police and rescue officials said.

Firefighters and rescue workers went to the Gul Plaza shortly after 10pm. According to the local media, most shop owners were closing their stores or had already left when the fire broke out and spread quickly.