At least eight people were injured when several shops were damaged due to a gas explosion in a nullah on which it was constructed in Karachi’s Lasbela Chowk, officials and witnesses said.

State-run APP quoted Rescue 1122 officials as saying that the explosion occurred in the wake of gas accumulation. Rescue officials said that two shops were completely damaged and the explosion also damaged the vehicles parked near the nullah.

A man named Areeb from a courier service, which was next to the blast site, was said to be missing after the blast.

Footage showed many gathered at the site of the blast, with rescue workers inspecting the area. Many residents of a nearby building also came out after the blast.

Lasbela Chowk is a roundabout which connects old and new areas of the mega city. A heavy contingent of rescue workers reached the site. It merits here to mention the office of Edhi was near the blast site.

The wounded persons were shifted to the Civil Hospital. They were named Naseeruddin, 23, Usman, 20, Khurram 22, Laal Muhammad, 35, Muhammad Ijaz 24, Hafeez, 23, Mansoor Ali, 40, and Arif, 38.

Due to the explosion, many items from the shops fell into the drain.

One of the witnesses said that it could not be ascertained how the blast occurred. The nullah travels from Lasbela to Guru Mandir, he said and added that four to five rickshaws were also damaged in the blast.

Al least 15 people were killed and 16 others injured when a building housing in the Shershah area collapsed on Saturday due to a huge gas explosion in a nullah on which it was constructed in December 2021.

The building, a nearby petrol pump and some vehicles were damaged in the explosion caused by the accumulation of gases in the drain underneath.