At least 16 people, including women and children, were killed and 14 others injured after a suspected gas explosion caused the partial collapse of a residential building in Karachi, officials said on February 19, AzerNEWS reports.
The incident occurred around 4:15 a.m. local time in the Soldier Bazaar neighbourhood during Sehri, the pre-dawn meal observed by Muslims during Ramadan, according to police and local media reports. The explosion struck the first floor of a ground-plus-two-storey building in Gul Rana Colony.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Jamshed Asher said the blast caused part of the building to collapse, trapping residents under the rubble. The injured and deceased were transported to Civil Hospital Karachi, where Dr Mohammad Sabir Memon, director of the hospital’s Trauma Centre, confirmed that 13 bodies had been brought in.
Emergency responders continued search and rescue operations throughout the day. Rescue 1122, Pakistan’s state-run emergency service, deployed its urban search and rescue team and disaster response vehicles to the scene. Chief Operating Officer Dr Abid confirmed that the collapse was caused by a gas explosion and noted that the building’s small, individual rooms made rescue operations particularly challenging.
“This is not a legal building, and the structure is made of individual rooms,” Dr Abid said, adding that surrounding structures were also damaged in the incident.
Law enforcement quickly secured the area, according to a District East police spokesperson, who said: “Police cordoned off the area and tightened security, while rescue agencies initiated a search and rescue operation.”
Building collapses are not uncommon in Karachi, a metropolis of more than 20 million people, where rapid urbanisation, weak enforcement of construction regulations, and the proliferation of unauthorised structures pose ongoing safety risks.
In July 2025, at least 27 people died and 10 others were injured after a five-storey building collapsed in the Lyari area of the city. Authorities had previously declared that building uninhabitable due to structural deterioration.
