At least 16 Killed in Karachi Gas Explosion

A gas explosion has torn through an apartment building in Pakistan’s largest port city of Karachi, killing at least 16 people, including women and children, and injuring several others after part of the structure collapsed, police and rescue officials said.

The explosion occurred on Thursday in a residential neighbourhood of Karachi, the capital of southern Sindh province, as residents were preparing a pre-dawn meal on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, according to the local police.

Rescuers were still removing rubble to search for any survivors trapped under the debris and the search-and-rescue operation was ongoing.