KARACHI, Pakstan (AP) — A gas explosion ripped through an apartment building in Pakistan’s largest port city of Karachi on Thursday, killing at least 16 people, including women and children, and injuring several others after part of the structure collapsed, police and rescue officials said.
The explosion happened when people were preparing a pre-dawn meal on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in a residential area of Karachi, the capital of Sindh province, local police chief Rizwan Patel said. Rescuers were still removing rubble to search for any survivors trapped under the debris, he added.
Click to Gallery
Rescue workers load a body into an ambulance after recovering it from the rubble following a gas explosion at an apartment building, in Karachi, Pakistan, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)
Women mourn over the death of their relatives near the site of a gas explosion in an apartment building, in Karachi, Pakistan, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)
Rescue workers carry a body after recovering from the rubble following a gas explosion in an apartment building in Karachi, Pakistan, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammad Farooq)
Rescue workers recover a body from the rubble following a gas explosion in an apartment building in Karachi, Pakistan, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)
The death toll was initially reported at 13 but Patel said it rose to 16 after three more bodies were pulled out from the rubble.
Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari expressed sorrow and condolences to the victims’ families and directed authorities to ensure the best possible treatment for the injured. He also called for a swift completion of rescue operations and urged the Sindh provincial government to enforce building codes, check gas cylinder safety and conduct a thorough inquiry to help prevent similar incidents.
Most houses and apartment buildings in Karachi, like elsewhere in Pakistan, are supplied with natural gas for cooking. However, many households also rely on liquefied petroleum gas cylinders because of low natural gas pressure.
In July, a gas explosion following a wedding reception at a home in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, killed eight people, including the bride and groom. The blast occurred as guests had gathered to celebrate the couple, authorities said.
Rescue workers load a body into an ambulance after recovering it from the rubble following a gas explosion at an apartment building, in Karachi, Pakistan, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)
Women mourn over the death of their relatives near the site of a gas explosion in an apartment building, in Karachi, Pakistan, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)
Rescue workers carry a body after recovering from the rubble following a gas explosion in an apartment building in Karachi, Pakistan, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammad Farooq)
Rescue workers recover a body from the rubble following a gas explosion in an apartment building in Karachi, Pakistan, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to life in prison for his brief imposition of martial law in a dramatic culmination to the country's biggest political crisis in decades.
Yoon fell from office after an ill-advised attempt to overcome an opposition-controlled legislature by declaring martial law and sending troops to surround the legislature on Dec. 3, 2024.
Judge Jee Kui-youn said he found Yoon guilty of rebellion for mobilizing military and police forces in an illegal attempt to seize the liberal-led National Assembly, arrest politicians and establish unchecked power for a “considerable” time.
Yoon is likely to appeal the verdict.
A special prosecutor had demanded the death penalty for Yoon, saying his actions posed a threat to the country’s democracy and deserved the most serious punishment available, but most analysts expect a life sentence since the poorly-planned power grab did not result in casualties.
South Korea has not executed a death row inmate since 1997, in what is widely seen as a de facto moratorium on capital punishment amid calls for its abolition.
As Yoon arrived in court, hundreds of police officers watched closely as Yoon supporters rallied outside a judicial complex, their cries rising as the prison bus transporting him drove past. Yoon’s critics gathered nearby, demanding the death penalty.
The court also convicted and sentenced several former military and police officials involved in enforcing Yoon’s martial law decree, including ex-Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun, who received a 30-year jail term for his central role in planning the measure and mobilizing the military.
Yoon, a staunch conservative, has defended his martial law decree as necessary to stop liberals, whom he described as “anti-state” forces, from obstructing his agenda with their legislative majority.
The decree lasted about six hours before being lifted after a quorum of lawmakers managed to break through a military blockade and unanimously voted to lift the measure.
Yoon was suspended from office on Dec. 14, 2024, after being impeached by lawmakers and was formally removed by the Constitutional Court in April 2025. He has been under arrest since last July while facing multiple criminal trials, with the rebellion charge carrying the most severe punishment.
Last month, Yoon was sentenced to five years in prison for resisting arrest, fabricating the martial law proclamation and sidestepping a legally mandated full Cabinet meeting before declaring the measure.
The Seoul Central Court has also convicted two of Yoon’s Cabinet members in other cases. That includes Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who received a 23-year prison sentence for attempting to legitimize the decree by forcing it through a Cabinet Council meeting, falsifying records and lying under oath. Han has appealed the verdict.
Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stage a rally outside of Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stage a rally outside of Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stage a rally outside of Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stage a rally outside of Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
FILE - South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol attends a hearing of his impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, South Korea, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, Pool, File)
FILE - Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, centerm arrives at a court to attend a hearing to review his arrest warrant requested by special prosecutors in Seoul, South Korea, July 9, 2025. (Kim Hong-Ji/Pool Photo via AP, File)
