ISLAMABAD, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Six people were killed and 12 others injured after a gas leak triggered an explosion in a three-story residential building in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi on Thursday, rescue officials said.
The incident occurred when an explosion on the first floor of the building caused a partial collapse of the structure, the state-owned Rescue 1122 said in a statement.
Rescue teams rushed to the site immediately after receiving information about the explosion.
Rescuers used all available resources to conduct a search operation and pulled several victims from the rubble, the official said.
Police said preliminary investigations suggested that the explosion was caused by a gas leak, possibly from a cylinder or a gas suction machine.
The injured, including children, were shifted to nearby hospitals for medical treatment, while rescue teams continued clearance operations to ensure no one remained trapped under the debris. ■
