ZCZC
BFF-39
SLOVAKIA-EXPLOSION-GAS
Five die in gas explosion in Slovakia
BRATISLAVA, Dec 6, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – At least five people died and dozens were injured in a gas explosion that rocked a high-rise apartment building in eastern Slovakia on Friday, rescue services said.
“Five people died and we estimated the number of injured at 40,” Alena Krcova, a spokeswoman for the rescue services, told AFP.
The blast in the eastern Slovak town of Presov, 400 kilometres (250 miles) from the capital Bratislava, occurred around noon on Friday.
A hospital spokeswoman told local media that none of the nine blast casualties treated at the facility in the immediate aftermath of the explosion had been in a critical condition.
“The blast followed by a fire affected four or five floors” of the 12-storey building, firefighters told local media, warning that it was in danger of collapsing.
Firefighters evacuated an unknown number of people from the building, local police said in a post on their official Facebook page.
BSS/AFP/MRU/0010hrs