MADRID, Jan 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least three people were killed when a huge explosion ripped through a building in Madrid, with officials confirming it was caused by a gas leak.
Images from the scene showed the walls on the top four or five storeys of the residential building in the heart of the La Latina neighbourhood had been blown out, with vast quantities of debris spreading far and wide.
Government representative Jose Manuel Franco told Spain’s public television that the Wednesday blast occurred as a team of workmen were repairing the building’s boiler.
Speaking at the scene, Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida said an 85-year-old woman had died along with a man whose age was not immediately clear, while the third victim was still “under the rubble”.
Bulgaria’s foreign ministry announced late Wednesday a 47-year-old Bulgarian man was among those killed.
Another 11 people were injured, one of whom was in serious condition. Church sources said the seriously injured man was a recently-ordained priest.
Despite the force of the blast, no one was hurt in the elderly care home next door, nor in an adjacent school where tonnes of rubble fell into the playground while the children were in lessons, city officials said.
Wednesday was the first day that schools reopened after a nine-day closure due to the heaviest snowfall in Madrid in 50 years.
“This could have been a massive tragedy,” said Martinez-Almeida.
Along the street, at least 15 cars were badly damaged by the force of the explosion, which gutted most of the six-storey residential building.
Franco confirmed it was a “gas explosion” and said there were three dead and one missing, indicating the toll could rise further.
Hundreds of police and rescuers filled the streets around the building, which the archdiocese said housed local priests who worked in the area.
Nine fire crews and 11 ambulances were dispatched to the scene which was completely closed off to traffic and pedestrians.
Three hours after the explosion occurred, smoke and flames could still be seen emerging from the building as a police helicopter flew overhead.
Aerial footage released by police appeared to show that the top four or five floors had been completely blown out, with the blast also bringing down the wall of a building in Puerta de Toledo square, some 50 metres away, he said.
“Unfortunately we are mourning the death of several people in the explosion on Calle Toledo,” tweeted Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, offering his condolences to the families of the dead and the injured. — NNN-AGENCIES
