Madrid explosion: 3 killed, 11 injured in powerful gas blast

At least three people have died and 11 have been injured in a gas explosion that tore the facade off a hotel in central Madrid on Wednesday, according to the city's mayor, José Luis Martínez-Almeida.A school and a nursing home flank the building. There were no injuries reported among the latter residents, who were evacuated shortly after the blast.Martínez-Almeida said that the residents were being taken to a hotel across the street.None of the students in the school are nearby, which has been slightly damaged, were seriously injured, the country's culture minister Enrique Ossorio said."Fortunately, when this occurred, there were no students at all in the courtyard," he wrote on Twitter.The explosion happened on Toledo Street in the Puerta del Toledo area. Authorities said four floors of the family were hit by the explosion.A tower of smoke rose from the building, where repairs were being done to a gas boiler. Aerial footage given by Spain's National Police showed rubble, including the nearby schoolyard.Specialist officers from the national police force numbering 120 were working at the scene, the authority said.A fire that started inside the house was making it difficult for rescuers and firefighters to look for survivors, according to Martínez-Almeida.Rescue teams said that they would stop work on the house for the night and "return to work first thing in the morning" on Wednesday night.Of the 11 people injured in the explosion, one was seriously hurt, the Madrid emergency service said in a tweet.The first images and footage produced on social media proved a tower of smoke coming out from the six-story construction and rubble spent in the street.She said she saw people running each other in the street as the bang rang out, adding that she moved out onto her balcony and smelt burning.READ MORE NEWS HERE