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At least three people died and six others were injured after an “extremely strong” explosion destroyed a residential building belonging to the Catholic Church in the center of the city of Madrid.
The blast occurred near a nursing home and school, and videos and images shared on social media showed debris strewn on the street.
The city mayor said preliminary information indicated that the explosion was caused by a gas leak and confirmed that one of the bodies was discovered under the rubble. Someone was working on a boiler at the time.
Debris was strewn across the road after the explosion. Photo: AP
Two people were taken to hospital for further treatment, and one of them is in serious condition with a head injury.
Rescue teams, firefighters and police are on the scene.
Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida said there was an ongoing fire in the six-story building devastated by the explosion.
It was a complex that provided residential training for priests and also provided meals for the homeless, a neighbor said.
The mayor said a nearby school had suffered minor damage.
The school was believed 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.
The scene of the Madrid explosion
A witness, Leire Reparaz, said she heard a loud explosion a few minutes before 3 p.m. local time while on her way to her home near the Puerta de Toledo landmark.
She told the AP news agency: “We didn’t know where the sound was coming from. We all thought it was from 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 people were helped by members of the emergency services.
The explosion occurred on Toledo Street. Images on Twitter showed smoke coming from the building, several wrecked cars and debris strewn across the road.
A police spokeswoman said the area was being evacuated but could not confirm the cause of the blast.
