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At least two people have died after an “extremely strong” explosion in the center of the city of Madrid, with rescue teams, firefighters and police dispatched to the scene.
Spanish media reports said the blast took place in a building near a nursing home and a school, and videos and images shared on social media showed debris strewn on the street.
The city’s mayor confirmed that there had been two deaths and said preliminary information indicated that the explosion was likely caused by a gas leak.
José Luis Martínez-Almeida said there was an ongoing fire in the building devastated by the explosion.
He couldn’t say how many people were injured, but said the nearby school had not been seriously damaged.
The school was thought to be empty at the time, according to TVE, because classes had not yet resumed after a record snowfall in the Spanish capital on January 9.
All residents of the nursing home were safe and evacuated, according to police sources.
The mayor said residents were being taken to a hotel across the street.
A witness told the AP news agency: “We didn’t know where the sound was coming from. We all thought it was from the school.
“We went up the stairs to the top of our building and we could see the structure of the building and a lot of gray smoke.”
The explosion occurred on Toledo Street. Images on Twitter showed smoke coming from the six-story building, several wrecked cars and debris strewn across the road.
According to TVE, several people have been injured, while Telemadrid reports that at least one person is trapped.
A police spokeswoman said the area was being evacuated but could not confirm the cause of the blast.
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