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Prague gas blast injures 35

Other News Materials 30 April 2013 02:26 (UTC +04:00)
A gas explosion injured 35 people but caused no deaths Monday in a part of central Prague popular with tourists, authorities said after hours of concern over several missing people.
Prague gas blast injures 35

A gas explosion injured 35 people but caused no deaths Monday in a part of central Prague popular with tourists, authorities said after hours of concern over several missing people, DPA reported.

"There are no more people unaccounted for," police said.

The blast occurred at 10 am in an office building located between the Prague Film Academy and the Academy of Sciences. The area, a major tourist destination, resembled the scene of a terrorist attack.

Prague Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda ruled out a deliberate act and confirmed that the explosion was caused by gas leaking from faulty installations, CT24 television reported.

Svoboda had visited the scene, and Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas said he would take a personal role in the investigation.

Prague emergency services chief Zdenek Schwarz said earlier that three or four people might have still been buried under the rubble within the building, which was severely damaged and near collapse.

Doctors treated 35 people, including a man with a broken leg. Most of the other injured suffered lacerations from flying glass as windows on nearby buildings shattered.

"The blast was strong. ... The shockwave knocked people off their feet, but there were no serious injuries in the (Academy of Sciences)," said Michaela Mazancova, an Academy of Sciences employee.

The gas supply to the area was turned off, and about 220 people were evacuated from the blast zone amid reports of further gas leaks.

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