- Explosion triggers fire and collapse in Mominabad.
- At least five injured, more feared trapped.
- Emergency crews use machinery to clear debris.
KARACHI: A three-storey building collapsed in Mominabad on Wednesday, injuring at least five people and leaving others feared trapped beneath the rubble, police and rescue officials said.
According to rescue teams, two people were initially pulled out, one of them in critical condition, and rushed to a nearby hospital. Authorities said more individuals may still be trapped under the debris as the operation continues.
Before the collapse, witnesses reported an explosion inside the structure, which triggered a fire. SSP West Tariq Mastoi confirmed that one person suffered burn injuries during the incident. Five injured victims have been shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for treatment.
Rescue officials said heavy machinery has been deployed to remove the debris, while ambulances and emergency personnel remain on site. Police have cordoned off the area to facilitate the operation.
The entire front portion of the building collapsed. The structure was originally a ground-plus-one building, with two additional rooms later added on top.
The incident, though tragic, is not an isolated case, as Karachi has seen a recurring pattern of building collapses over the past several years.
Last month, 27 people lost their lives in the tragic building collapse in Lyari’s Bhagdadi neighbourhood.
Twenty-six bodies — including nine women, 15 men, a ten-year-old boy and a one-and-a-half-year-old girl — were recovered from the rubble, while another person succumbed to their wounds during treatment.
The Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) revealed that the collapsed structure — which housed over 40 people in 20 apartments — was 30 years old and had been previously marked unsafe.
The incident also sheds light on the existing threat posed by buildings already declared unsafe and unfit for habitation by the SBCA. The number of such buildings stands at 578 in Karachi, with 456 of them being in the District South alone.
Other districts also face risk: Central (66), Keamari (23), Korangi (14), East (13), Malir (4), and West (2).
