AdSense Advertisement

Pakistan gas explosion kills 16 in Karachi as residential building collapse

By The South Asia Times

KARACHI, Pakistan - At least 16 people, including women and children, were killed and 14 others injured when a gas explosion triggered a partial building collapse in Karachi’s Soldier Bazaar area early in the morning of Thursday, rescue officials said.

The blast occurred around 4:15 a.m. during Sehri in Gul Rana Colony, causing the first floor of a ground-plus-two residential structure to cave in. The force of the explosion also damaged nearby buildings.

Rescue teams shifted the injured and victims to Civil Hospital Karachi, where officials confirmed multiple fatalities. Authorities said eight of those killed were minors, along with four women and four men. Several children were also among the injured.

Rescue 1122 spokespersons said urban search and rescue units, along with disaster response vehicles, were deployed to the scene and operations continued for hours due to the building’s narrow layout and small, subdivided rooms, which complicated access.

Officials confirmed the explosion was caused by a gas leak. Rescue authorities also noted that the structure was not a legally approved building, raising concerns about construction safety standards in the densely populated neighborhood.