AMSTERDAM, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Several people were injured after a major blast caused a fire in the center of Utrecht, one of the Netherlands' largest cities, on Thursday afternoon. Local authorities
Explosion from Gas Leak Destroys Homes in Utrecht, Injuries Reported
Impact of the Gas Leak Explosion
UTRECHT, Netherlands, Jan 15 (Reuters) - A gas leak triggered a powerful explosion that destroyed several houses in the central Dutch city of Utrecht on Thursday, injuring four people, local authorities said.
Injuries and Emergency Response
Utrecht Mayor Sharon Dijksma told reporters that none of the injuries were life‑threatening. “The damage is immense, several buildings have collapsed,” she said.
Cause of the Gas Leak
Emergency crews were continuing to search the rubble as a precaution, but there were no reports of missing persons, Dijksma added.
Mayor's Statement
The explosion occurred in the densely populated centre of the fourth-largest city in the Netherlands around 3:30 p.m. local time (1430 GMT), while the owners of the house were out.
It took firefighters around six hours to get the fire under control.
Dijksma said it was unknown what had caused the gas leak, but added there were no suspicions of foul play.
(Reporting by Benoit Van Overstraeten, Marta Fiorin and Bart Meijer; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Diane Craft)
