(Karachi) At least 12 people were killed and several others injured on Saturday in an explosion caused by a gas leak in Karachi, a port city in southern Pakistan, police said.
The explosion occurred in a building housing a bank in the Sher Shah neighborhood, images posted on social media and on television showed a two-story building with fully blown windows and doors and documents scattered across a wide expanse.
Cars and motorcycles parked nearby were also damaged.
PHOTO RIZWAN TABASSUM, FRANCE-PRESS AGENCY
The regional police told AFP that a team of deminers was on site but that a “gas leak seems to be at the origin of the explosion”.
In a statement, she confirmed the deaths of 12 people, adding that 13 others were injured.
Explosions from faulty gas cylinders – used in cooking and in cars – are common in Pakistan.
While Karachi accounts for 60% of Pakistan’s economic output, the city has long suffered from poor infrastructure, illegal construction and failing municipal services.