KARACHI: A woman and her minor daughter were killed and her husband, infant daughter and brother-in-law wounded when the roof of their Baldia Town house caved in with an explosion on Tuesday, officials and rescue services said.

They added that the small house collapsed within the remit of the Saeedabad police station at around 5:50am.

Edhi volunteers and area residents recovered five family members from the debris and shifted them to the Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi where doctors pronounced two of them dead on arrival.

Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed said three others were admitted for treatment.

Baldia SP Faizan Ali said that a gas leakage appeared to be the main reason of the house collapse and the explosion. Besides, ongoing torrential rains had weakened the structure of the house, he added.

Residents informed the police that gas leakage was a common problem in the locality. They added that they heard a big explosion, which also shook windows and doors of their homes.

The deceased were identified as Azra, 25, her daughter Zoya, 4. The injured were identified as her spouse Zia Rehman, 40, her nine-month-old daughter, Zainab, and brother-in-law, Shahid, 20, suffered injuries.

Published in Dawn, August 3rd, 2022