- Local TV shows street covered in debris
- Several people reportedly injured in strong explosion in Spanish capital
- Authorities “evacuating residents” to Hotel Ganivet, says local media
MADRID: A strong explosion in the Spanish capital reportedly left several people injured, according to witnesses of the blast and international media reports, with local TV showing the street covered in debris.
“Nine fire crews and 11 ambulances have gone to Calle Toledo following an explosion in a building,” local emergency services tweeted. However, the cause of the blast was not immediately clear.
The explosion happened in Toledo street, in the city centre.
A Reuters reporter saw that one building had collapsed in a central Madrid blast, with smoke coming out of the building and rescue workers evacuating elderly people from a nearby nursing home, while a reporter for TVE public broadcaster said several had been injured.
According to BBC Mundo, the BBC‘s foreign language outlet, the Madrid blast was likely a gas explosion.
According to the publication, Spanish newspaper El País quoted a spokesperson for the company that runs the establishment as saying no employee or resident was injured but authorities were “evacuating residents to the hotel across the street”