GOTEBORG, Sweden — As many as 20 people were hurt and hundreds were evacuated Tuesday following an explosion at an apartment building in Sweden, authorities said.
According to The Associated Press, the blast occurred shortly before 5 a.m. local time in the building’s courtyard in Goteborg’s Annedal district. A police spokesman told the news agency that eight of the injured were rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment. Three of the victims suffered serious injuries, the Goteborg Tidning reported.
A powerful explosion in an apartment building in the Swedish city of Goteborg has injured up to 20 people, three of them seriously, and forced the evacuation of hundreds of people. https://t.co/runsOvPIJ5
— AP Europe (@AP_Europe) September 28, 2021
It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion, but investigators do not believe that the blast occurred naturally, according to the AP. Local media outlets said police believe gas or an explosive device may be to blame, the news agency reported.
Witnesses Lars Hulten and Lars-Gunnar Wolmesjo told local newspapers that they saw residents climbing, falling and jumping from their balconies, the AP reported.
– The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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