Islamabad - A popular shopping centre in Pakistan's garrison town of Rawalpindi partially collapsed on Saturday after a fire raged through the building for more than
12 hours, killing a man and injuring at least eight people, officials said.

Rescue teams were working to put out the last of the fire and search for survivors when two-thirds of the five-storey Gakhar Plaza collapsed, burying a score of emergency workers and onlookers beneath the rubble, police officer Mohammad Islam said.

Islam said at least eight of the injured were transported to hospital, while rescuers worked to dug out their colleagues.

"So far, we can confirm only one death in the incident," senior police officer Rao Iqbal said, adding that the one confirmed fatality occurred in the initial hours of the blaze as his charred body was recovered when the building's structure was intact.

Fire was also reported in other parts of the mall after the building collapse. (dpa)