A gas explosion in Karachi killed 16 and injured 13, collapsing a residential building during Ramadan.

A gas explosion on February 19, 2026, in Karachi, Pakistan, killed at least 16 people, including women and children, and injured 13 others when it triggered the partial collapse of a three-story residential building in the densely populated Soldier Bazaar neighborhood. The blast occurred around 4:15 a.m. during Ramadan, as residents prepared the pre-dawn sehri meal. Officials suspect a gas leak from a cylinder caused the explosion, though the exact cause is under investigation. Rescue teams used heavy machinery to search through rubble, with some victims still trapped. The incident highlights ongoing concerns over unsafe construction, aging infrastructure, and weak enforcement of building codes in Karachi, a city of over 20 million people. This tragedy follows a similar building collapse in July 2024 that killed 27 people, and authorities have previously identified hundreds of dangerous structures in the city.