Suspected gas explosion in Prague injures dozens

TheGuardian: Up to 40 people injured and building damaged after powerful blast near National Theatre in centre of Czech capital

A powerful explosion has damaged a building in the centre of the Czech capital, Prague, injuring up to 40 people. Authorities said they believed people were buried in the rubble.

Police spokesman Tomas Hulan said it was not certain what caused the blast in Divadelni Street, but it was likely a natural gas explosion.

The street was covered with rubble and had been sealed off by police, who also evacuated nearby buildings and closed a wide area around the site of the explosion.

Zdenek Schwarz, head of the rescue service in Prague, said up to 40 people had been injured.

Windows in buildings located hundreds of metres from the blast were shattered, including some in the nearby National Theatre.

"There was glass everywhere and people shouting and crying," Vaclav Rokyta, a Czech student, told the AP near the scene.

"I was in the bathroom, no windows, the door was closed. Honestly, if I had been in my bed I would have been covered in glass," said Z.B. Haislip, a student from Raleigh, North Carolina, who was in a nearby building.

The Faculty of Social Sciences of Prague's Charles University and the Film and TV School of the Academy of Sciences of Performing Arts are located next to the damaged building.

Prime Minister Petr Necas said in a statement he was "deeply hit by the tragedy of the gas explosion."