At least 16 killed in Karachi Soldier Bazaar building collapse following gas explosion – Pakistan

KARACHI: At least 16 people, including women and children, were killed, and 14 were injured after a suspected gas explosion caused part of a residential building to collapse in Karachi’s Soldier Bazaar area, according to rescue officials.

The incident occurred at a residence in the Gul Rana Colony area of Soldier Bazaar. The injured and the deceased were shifted to Civil Hospital.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Jamshed Asher said the incident occurred at around 4:15am, during Sehri, and that the gas explosion took place on the building’s first floor.

In an update, Sindh Rescue 1122 said the death toll in the incident had reached 16, while 14 were injured. According to the director of Civil Hospital’s Trauma Centre, Dr Mohammad Sabir Memon, 13 of the bodies had been brought to his hospital.

Rescue 1122 said that search and rescue operations are ongoing, with an urban search and rescue team and a disaster response vehicle present at the scene.

Speaking to the media, Rescue 1122 Chief Operating Officer Dr Abid, also confirmed that a gas explosion was the cause of the structure’s partial collapse and said the ground plus two-floor structure had small rooms, and the limited space made the rescue operation challenging.

“This is not a legal building, and the structure is made of individual rooms,” said the senior rescue official, adding that the collapse also damaged surrounding structures.

A District East police spokesperson added that a large contingent of law enforcers, along with rescue teams, reached the scene soon after the incident was reported.

“Police cordoned off the area and tightened security, while rescue agencies initiated a search and rescue operation,” said the police spokesperson.

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 metropolis.

The building had already been declared uninhabitable by authorities due to its dilapidated structure.

In a statement back then, the Sindh Building Control Authority had noted that 588 buildings had been declared dangerous throughout Karachi.

A month later, four workers of the Awami National Party (ANP) were injured, with one of them suffering severe burn wounds, when a gas explosion caused the collapse of their office in Orangi Town.

Roof and building collapses are common across Pakistan, mainly because of poor safety standards and the use of shoddy construction materials.

But Karachi, home to more than 20m, is especially notorious for poor construction, illegal extensions, ageing infrastructure, overcrowding and lax enforcement of building regulations.

Sindh CM takes notice