Four killed, dozens injured after gas explosion in central Israel

[News_Editor]

Four killed, dozens injured after gas explosion in central Israel

2011-06-17 11:58:34 GMT+7 (ICT)

JERUSALEM (BNO NEWS) -- At least four people were killed and 50 others were injured on Thursday after a suspected gas explosion in the central Israeli city of Netanya, the Jerusalem Post reported.

According to police, an explosion caused by a gas tank or a number of tanks rocked a four-story building, killing three women and one man. Two of the women were in their forties, one woman was in her twenties and the man was in his fifties.

Three of the nearly 50 people who were wounded were listed as moderately injured, and the rest were slightly hurt. They were taken to nearby hospitals and are expected to recover.

"Our working assumption is that this was caused by a gas tank, although nothing is certain," Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharnovitch who arrived on the scene told Israel Radio.

"There is a strong smell of gas. What's important now is to evacuate all the injured from the building. Searches are still underway...there are probably people on the upper floors that were not hurt but are trapped. It may take hours to get them out. The rescue services will go room by room to search for trapped people," Aharnovitch added.

Police arrested a man who they suspect may have cut a gas line, causing a leak that led to the explosion. He was arrested previously and later released for trying to steal gas pipes.

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