A fire broke out at a shopping mall in Karachi, Pakistan, and firefighters continued to put out the blaze, killing six people.

Parts of the 8,000-square-meter (86,111-square-foot) Ghor Plaza, home to 1,200 shops, collapsed, which officials said hampered rescue efforts.

One firefighter died, more than 20 people were injured and there were fears some people were still trapped inside the multi-storey shopping centre.

Local emergency services said that when rescuers arrived at the scene on Saturday, “the fire had spread from the ground floor to the upper floors and almost the entire building was engulfed in flames.”

Smoke was still billowing from the wreckage of the Gul Plaza building on Sunday morning.

Karachi Rescue 1122 spokesperson Hassan Khan told BBC Urdu that the mall contained flammable materials such as plastic foam, fabrics, carpets and perfumes.

There were 20 fire engines trying to control the blaze, but there were fears the mall could collapse further.

Summaiya Syed, Police Surgeon, KarachiIt said six bodies and some injured people had been shifted to the city’s civil hospital.

She added that police were “invoking large-scale disaster protocols.”

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari expressed condolences and asked the government of Sindh province, where Karachi is located, to conduct a comprehensive review of security arrangements for commercial and residential buildings in the area.