Pakistan: 4 killed in Karachi fireworks warehouse blast

PAKISTAN: AN explosion at a fireworks warehouse in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi on Thursday killed at least four people and injured more than 30 others, according to local police.

The blast triggered a fire that engulfed the warehouse and several nearby shops and damaged vehicles in an area known as Jinnah Road.

The force of the explosion shattered windows in surrounding buildings, sending shards of glass flying into the streets and pedestrians running for safety, according to witnesses.

What caused the blast?

Authorities have yet to determine the official cause of the initial explosion.

A Karachi police spokesperson told Germany’s DPA news agency that raw materials used to manufacture fireworks were illegally stored at the accident site. Two owners of the warehouse have been arrested, according to police.

“More than 50 kilograms of raw material could have been stored in the basement. This is used to manufacture fireworks, but also bombs,” another spokesperson for Karachi’s anti-terror unit said.

The blast Thursday is similar to an explosion in January at a fireworks storage site in the eastern Punjab province that killed 6 people.

As Pakistan’s financial capital and home to over 20 million residents, Karachi frequently grapples with infrastructure challenges and safety concerns.