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At least three dead in central Madrid building explosion

At least three dead in central Madrid building explosion

Thursday, January 21, 2021, 09:38 GMT+7
At least three dead in central Madrid building explosion
Debris are seen atop of the building belonging to the Catholic Church affected by a deadly explosion, in Madrid downtown, Spain, January 20, 2021. Photo: Reuters

MADRID -- At least three people died and eleven were injured on Wednesday afternoon when a building in central Madrid was blown apart by an explosion, with four of the wounded requiring hospitalisation.

All available evidence pointed to the blast in Calle Toledo, a street leading out from the city centre, being caused by a gas leak, Madrid’s Emergency Services said, although the factors which triggered the leak were yet to be determined.

“It was completely nerve-wracking ... I heard and felt the explosion but didn’t know where it came from,” said local Isabel Romero, whose eight-year-old son is a student at a school next to the building where the explosion occurred.

The building belonging to the Catholic Church burns after a deadly explosion, in Madrid downtown, Spain January 20, 2021. Photo: Reuters

The building belonging to the Catholic Church burns after a deadly explosion, in Madrid downtown, Spain January 20, 2021. Photo: Reuters

“All of the windows in one of the classrooms shattered and the children were very shaken.”

Firefighters were still on the scene late in the evening, with Madrid’s Emergency services tweeting: “The (building’s) state has yet to be determined ... and gas is burning at a controlled rate.”

Electrician David Santos Muñoz, a 35-year-old father of four, was identified as one of the dead, Madrid’s Archdiocese said in a tweet, saying he had gone to the parish-owned building earlier in the day to lend a hand.

Spanish authorities said an 85-year-old woman also died in the explosion, and Bulgaria’s foreign ministry said the third victim was a 47-year-old Bulgarian citizen.

Fire fighters work after an explosion in Madrid downtown, Spain January 20, 2021. Photo: Reuters

Fire fighters work after an explosion in Madrid downtown, Spain January 20, 2021. Photo: Reuters

The building was a complex which provided residential training for priests and also gave meals to homeless people, a neighbour said.

The top five floors were totally destroyed, with walls blown out, while the bottom two floors were still mostly intact, but charred in places from the flames.

Of the 11 people wounded, four were hospitalised, one with severe thoracic and orthopaedic injuries and whose condition was deemed grave.

After the blast, rescue workers evacuated elderly people from a nearby nursing home.

Reuters

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