Seventeen injured as block collapses
At least 17 people were injured, one seriously, when a four-story apartment building in north-eastern collapsed early today Spain after an apparent gas explosion, officials said.
The blast happened shortly after midnight (local time) in the town of Santa Coloma de Gramanet, on the outskirts of Barcelona.
Bartomeu Munoz, mayor of Santa Coloma, told Spanish National Radio that witnesses reported hearing a powerful explosion before the building came crashing down.
Firefighters suspected it was a gas explosion, he added.
The building had a cafeteria on the ground floor but it was not immediately known if that was the source of the blast.
Sixteen people were pulled from the rubble with slight injuries.
The most seriously injured was a man who suffered burns in 47% of his body. State radio said he lived in one of the 11 apartments in the building.
