Deadly explosion in a German apartment block kills one and injures 25 in the town of Blankenburg, said the local officials to the German media on Friday. The police said that there could be more victims in the scene. There was no initial indication of what caused the explosion.
The police tweeted a photo following the explosion which showed a building with blackened windows from the district of Saxony-Anhalt. Rescue services arrived at the scene in Bertolt-Brecht Strasse immediately after the explosion which happened at 9 AM local time. The explosion is said to be originated on the first floor.
The building was completely destroyed
The five-storey residential block, located on the edge of the town near Harz Mountains National Park has a population of 20,000. The building next door is a kindergarten which was evacuated as soon as the explosion happened. The police said that the 100 or so children were picked up by their respective parents.
The building was almost completely destroyed when the firefighters reached the scene. As many as 160 rescue workers worked along with the fire brigade and the paramedics to bring the situation under control. People took to social media to post photos which showed the building completely destroyed with rubble on the street.
The number of injured is likely to rise
The streets were closed off and traffic was diverted following the explosion at 8.55 CET. It was said that the number of fatalities is likely to rise in the coming hours as the rescue operations continued.
The deceased was a 78-year-old man who was inside the building when the detonation took place. The police said that the incident started because of a gas explosion. The emergency services said that everyone who was in the building were accounted for. Germany has been facing the nightmare of explosions in various regions sometimes due to the recycling facilities and at times in the mining regions.
