Aziz Ahmed, the father of factory worker Asif Aziz who was killed in a blaze in Karachi Wednesday, September 12, 2012, holds his son's photo as he mourns his death.
Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- Police in the Pakistani city of Karachi have opened a murder case against the owner of a garment factory where a fire killed more than 250 people this week, a senior police official said Thursday.
Also under investigation are the two sons of the factory owner, whose name is Abdul Aziz; the managers of the factory; the shareholders of the factory; and any government official who failed to enforce safety regulations at the factory, said Amir Farooqi, a senior Karachi police official.
The announcement means police officers will investigate the fire -- one of the worst industrial accidents in Pakistan's history -- gather evidence and submit their findings to prosecutors who will then decide whether to charge the individuals.
Farooqi said police have opened a murder case because the exit doors of this factory were locked, preventing many people from escaping the blaze that swept through the building during Tuesday night and continued to burn Wednesday.
Factory blaze kills hundreds in Karachi
Nobody has been arrested in the case yet. Police officers are still looking for Aziz and his sons, who are believed to be "hiding," Farooqi said.
Other charges in the case may eventually include causing bodily harm, negligence and destruction of property, he added.
At this phase in the investigation, police do not have to name all of the accused. That's why they're not identifying any government officials or factory managers at this point.
Earlier Thursday, Karachi authorities lowered the death toll from the blaze to 258 from 289 previously.
The higher toll reported Wednesday became inaccurate because of the rapidly rising number of deaths and confusion amid multiple rescue and recovery operations, according to Karachi Fire Department Chief Ehtesham Salim and Shabih Saddiqi, a local government official.
Salim said the latest death toll is based on the number of bodies and remains recovered from the factory.
Several people are still missing and recovery crews are working to find them.
Salim said investigators are still trying to establish what caused the fire.
Journalist Nasir Habib contributed to this report.
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Pakistani Muslims offer funeral prayers of at least 289 garment factory workers who were killed after fire engulfed the building in Karachi.
An undamaged area of a garment factory following the fire. All the victims were employees of the factory, said Zakir Khan of the Karachi Fire Department.
Pakistani rescuers remove the body of a garment factory worker. One child is among the dead and at least 25 people have been injured, Khan said.
Pakistani firefighters extinguish a fire that erupted in a garment factory. At one stage, firefighters feared dozens of people were trapped in the building's basement.
A Pakistani woman mourns the death of her relatives in the fire. Between 400 and 500 people were in the factory as it burned. Several trapped workers jumped from upper floors, said Mustafa Jamal, a senior government official in Baldia Town.
A Pakistani man mourns the death of relatives. Video broadcast by Geo TV showed large crowds of anxious people outside the smoldering building.
Emergency crews work at the scene of a deadly fire at a garment factory in Karachi, Pakistan, on September 12.
Pakistani residents watch the rescue operation in the garment factory in Karachi. Officials say they don't know the cause of the fire.
Emergency crews work at the scene of a deadly fire at a garment factory in Karachi, Pakistan, on September 12.
A Pakistani woman mourns the death of relatives in the fire.
Emergency crews work at the scene of a deadly fire at a garment factory in Karachi, Pakistan, on September 12.
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